The COMPLETE 



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FRED. O.SHAW, F.G.S 




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Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 

in 2010 witin funding from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/completescienceoOOshaw 



THE COMPLETE 

SCIENCE OF FLY FISHING 
AND SPINNING 



BY FRED. G. SHAW, F.G.S. 

ASSOC; M.IN8T.C.E., M.M.S. 

AMATEUR CHAMPION TROUT FLY CASTING AT THE INTERNATIONAL 
TOURNAMENT, 1904/8 



WITH 152 ILLUSTRATIONS 



AUTHOR OF 

"The Science of Dry Fly Fishing " 

(Bradbury, Agnew & Co., Ltd., 1906) 
"The Science of Dry Fly Fishing and Salmon Fly Casting" 

(John Murray, 1907) 
"Our Future Existence, or the Death-Surviving Consciousness of Man' 

(Stanley Paul, 1912) 



NEW YORK 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1915 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



6«^ 



<- 



OTHER WORKS BT THE SAME AUTHOR. 



"The Empire's Salvation." 
"Comets and their Tails, and the 

Gegenschein Light." 
" The Pseudomorphic Theory of the 

Witwatersrand Conglomerates." 
'• The Chinese Question." 
"The Ancient Miners of Rhodesia." 
" A National Policy." 
"Fiscal Facts and Fictions," etc. 
"The Science of Self Defence." 
" The Science of Physical Instruction." 



PREFACE 

In writing this book the author has endeavoured to con- 
fine his text entirely to subjects that he thinks will interest 
every fisherman and be of assistance to those who, owing 
to lack of opportunity, are neither experienced nor skilful. 
Even when he has ventured to express his opinion on 
controversial subjects he hopes that his views will cause 
offence to none. 

The average fisherman may not want to know how to 
build a rod — but he certainly wishes to know how to select 
one and how to use it. He may not want to make his own 
flies — but he certainly desires to know what flies to get and 
when and how to use them. He does not want to make 
his fishing line — what he wants is to know how to extend it 
and how to preserve its usefulness. 

If it be desirable and necessary to obtain help in order to 
become a proficient fly fisherman, the author admits the 
great advantages of personal tuition when it is obtainable. 
But, on the other hand, he is confident that, by explaining 
in simple language the science of casting and fishing with 
the fly or minnow, in similar terms to those which he uses 
when teaching the student personally, he can help the 
reader to acquire, by careful attention, a success which 
will well repay him for his trouble. 

When one recalls the pleasure and assistance which have 
been derived from the literature devoted to fly fishing, the 
pleasant reminiscences which have been revived, and the 
extensive fields of sport which have thus been thrown 
open, it would indeed be ungrateful to deny the 



iv. PREFACE 

efficacy of written instructions on this delightful science, 
but the author cannot too strongly deprecate the 
assumption that this book is written with the view of 
attempting to teach experienced fishermen. It is written 
especially for those who are thinking of taking up the sport, 
and if the author should be successful in imparting to these 
the skill which has afforded him so many happy hours, 
and if, in addition, some of his ideas and methods may 
happen to interest his brother fishermen, he will, in some 
measure, repay the debt which he owes to a kindly Provi- 
dence for giving him so many delightful opportunities of 
fishing. 

No kill is quite equal to that of the first salmon ; no 
thrill can exceed that which runs from the fisherman's 
hands to his brain as he braces his muscles to resist the first 
rush of a fresh-run salmon, feels the long downward strain 
on his rod, and hears the screech of the reel as his first fish 
plunges down-stream in its initial rush for safety ; no 
tension is more delightful than the first twenty minutes 
spent with a clean-run salmon ; and no satisfaction, so far 
as the sport is concerned, can possibly exceed that felt by 
him as the gleaming silver sides of his first fish emerge 
from the water securely held on his gillie's gaff. The vigour 
of the sport, the grandeur of the scenery, and the revivifying 
atmosphere of his surroundings, offer a tonic to the system 
far more pleasant and of infinitely greater value than any 
the pharmacopoeia is capable of producing. The contest 
between the salmon and the fisherman is more severe, longer, 
and the result more uncertain than that between the trout 
and man, and— during the time the struggle lasts — no fisher- 
man would deny that salmon is infinitely superior to trout 
fishing ; but during all the other hours of these two sports 
dry fly fishing for trout may with justice claim precedence 
as the most attractive form of angling. 



PREFACE V. 

While the fisherman's sporting instincts will be aroused 
by the difficulties and thrilled by the triumphs of salmon 
fishing, the artistic and poetic side of his temperament 
will be as strongly appealed to and affected by the charms of 
trout fishing. 

The salmon river will inspire the mind with the strength 
and force of its beauty, and invigorate the body with the 
health-giving scent of its pine forests and heather ; the 
trout stream, on the other hand, will lull the senses into 
delicious content, as the rippling notes of its liquid harmony 
are heard, and the delicate perfume of its surrounding flowers 
is inhaled, while the eyes will be soothed by the varied 
shades of the leafy surroundings of these haunts of the trout, 
and by the exquisite pictures reflected from the surface of 
their limpid depths. 

Hardly any water-side exists which fails to interest and 
attract the fisherman, and the pleasure of wandering by the 
side of any brook or mountain stream and watching 
the changing beauties and the wonder of its natural life is 
always enhanced by the infinite probabilities of sport which 
it suggests to the ardent angler, and the recollections which 
it arouses of sunlit days and happy associations of the past. 

The author's thanks are due to many who have kindly 
assisted him in writing this book, and their names will be 
noticed from time to time in its pages. He cannot, however, 
omit a special reference to the kind assistance which has 
been given to him by his secretary and friend, Miss Helen 
Stanton. 

The author has but recently discovered that much of 
his own experience and advice on fishing for trout is 
supported by the admirable writing of the late Mr. Francis 
Francis in " A Work on Angling," in which book there 
does not seem to be any aspect of fly fishing to which this 
gentleman has not lent the charm of his pen and the wisdom 



vi. PREFACE 

of his experience, and although the author cannot add to 
his text, yet he has ventured to give a few footnotes of 
quotations from the book in question. 

The spirit echoing through some Hnes written by Mr. 
W. Gilchrist Wilson will most certainly touch a sympathetic 
chord in the minds of most fishermen. 



To AN Unknown Angler. 

" Following the course of a mountain stream we 
came to a rude grave, a few slates put loosely together. 
Its history is not known, but some say it is that 
of a fisherman — of the early part of the last 
century." (1700). 

Sleep, unknown comrade, sleep 

Securely in thy cool 
Slate bed, where mountain steep 

Purples the long, slow pool. 

Barely a cast away 

Aura rolls softly by. 
Only a trout at play 

Breaks Nature's sympathy. 

Yet still we hear thy reel 

Go ringing down the stream — 
An unknown presence feel. 

And know we do not dream. 

For we are anglers all 

And ply our gentle trade 
By ripple, rush and fall — 

Pagan and not afraid. 

Then let us not repine. 

But wait our turn, and so 
Reel in our little line. 

Shoulder our creel and go. 

F. G. S. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

PREFACE _ - - - - 

I. INTRODUCTION — FLY FISHING FOR TROUT - I 

II. A day's coaching on a trout stream - 10 

III. A day's coaching on a trout stream (con- 

tinued) ----- 47 

IV. water insects and the rise - - 62 

V. THE SENSES OF TROUT AND HOW THEY AFFECT 

THE FISHERMAN - - - - 8y 

VI. PISICULTURE AND THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 

TROUT ----- 97 

VII. WET FLY FISHING, SPINNING, KNOTS, WEEDS, 

GENERAL INFORMATION - - - 109 

VIII. AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES. GRAYLING 

FISHING ----- 133 

IX. THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY- - 147 

X. DIFFERENT METHODS AND STYLES OF CASTING 178 

XI. MENTAL CONTROL OF THE MUSCLES WHEN 

LEARNING TO CAST _ - - 2OI 

XII. THE ACTION AND QUALITIES OF A PERFECT TROUT 

ROD ----- 214 

XIII. THE LIFE OF THE SALMON - - - 226 

XIV. THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID/E AND THE 

. STORY THEY TELL - - - 249 



VIU. 



CONTENTS. 



XV. MATTERS CONNECTED WITH FISHING FOR 

SALMON ----- 287 

XVI. SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, GUTS, AXIOMS, ETC. - 302 

XVII. METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY - - 315 

XVIII. THE SALMON FLY VevSUS THE SPINNING LURE, 

AND SOME RECORD TAKES - - 339 

XIX. THE SPINNING REEL AND THE SCIENCE OF 

SPINNING WITH A SALMON OR ANY 

DOUBLE-HANDED ROD - - - 358 

XX. NEW ZEALAND AS A FISHING GROUND - - 379 

XXI. FISHING IN CANADA - - - - 392 

APPENDIX ----- 406 

INDEX - _ . - . 424 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PLATES 



Frontispiece 

ENOUGH TO MAKE A PARSON SWEAR. BROKEN ! 

(from the painting by the late r. g. 

1. THE DELIGHT OF LIVING - - . . 

"71. NETTING A FISH - _ . _ . . 

.'III. don't LOWER THE POINT OF ROD, BUT KEEP A 

I VERY DELICATE PULL ON THE FISH - 

^ IV. DROP POINT OF ROD - - _ . . 

^. MY DOG AND MY FISH, A MORNING'S CATCH ON 

THE TEST -_.-.. 

-VI. THE EPHEMERID^ . - . . . 

"VII. THE TRICOPTERA, OR CADDIS FLY - - - 

■VlII. THE PERLID^, SIALID^ AND DIPTERA 

•IX. ON THE OTTER --.-_. 

-X. EVENING FISHING - - - . . 

-XI. THE ITCHEN TROUT-BREEDING ESTABLISHMENT, 

HANTS - 

"XII. A NATURAL DAM OF WEEDS - - - - 

-XIII. THE SUMMER GLORY OF A TROUT STREAM (TEST 

BELOW ROMSEY) 

XIV. AN IRISH TROUT LAKE 

XV. TROUT AND GRAYLING FROM THE ITCHEN 

-XVI. NORMAL FISHING POSITION - - - . 

-XVII. POSITION AT END OF BACKWARD SWITCH 

"XVIII. THE BACKWARD SWITCH OF THE TROUT ROD AS 

THE LINE LEAVES THE WATER - - - 

-XIX. THE CORRECT DOWNWARD ACTION OF THE TROUT 

ROD AND THE EXTENSION OF THE LINE 
'XX. A FAULTY DOWNWARD ACTION OF THE SALMON 

ROD 

-XXI. THE WYE CAST WITH THE TROUT ROD 



TARGETT.) 
TO FACE PAGE 

8- 

27- 

38" 

48^ 

64 

66 

68 

83 

83 

100 
124 

142 
142 
146 
152 
152 

152 

168 

168 
184 



X. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



XXII. THE BACK MOVEMENT OF THE GALWAY CAST 

WITH THE TROUT ROD, MADE OVER THE 

HEAD OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER - - - 

^ XXIII. THE SAME MOVEMENT MADE OVER THE TOP OF 

AN IMAGINARY SMALL TREE 

-^XIV. THE LOOP CAST FROM LEFT TO RIGHT WITH THE 

TROUT ROD 

' XXV. THE END OF THE LOOP CAST WITH THE TROUT ROD 

XXVI. THE END OF THE SPEY THROW WITH THE TROUT 

ROD 

xxvii. stages in the life of a young salmon 

.'xxviii. smolts with their scales partially stripped 

off and showing the parr marking 

XXVIIIa. scale of a young salmon showing seasonal 

markings ------ 

XXVIIIb. scale of a hen fish showing decrepitations 

xxix. loch leven trout — the cock and hen fish - 

' xxx. the scale of a 34-lb. hen spring fish 

(NORWAY) 

XXXI . SCALE OF A 34-LB. HEN SPRING FISH (WYE) 
XXXII. THE WYE CAST 

XXXIII. THE WYE CAST CONVERTED INTO THE GALWAY 

CAST 

XXXIV. VARIOUS KNOTS, AND THE SPLICING OF A ROD - 

XXXV. VARIOUS KNOTS 

XXXVI. RAISING THE SALMON ROD IN THE BACKWARD 

ACTION - 

XXXVII. THE CORRECT POSITION AT THE END OF THE 

BACKWARD SWITCH - - _ - 

' XXXVIII. FISHING OUT A CAST ON THE USK - 

XXXIX. THE END OF THE RAISE AND THE BEGINNING OF 

THE BACKWARD SWITCH - - - - 

XL. THE END OF THE BACK SWITCH 



TO FACE PAGE 

186 
186 

194 

232 

250 
250 

272 
274 
292 

292 

307 

317 

317 
317 

318 
318 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



XI. 



XLI. 



XLII. 

-XLIII. 

XLIV. 

XLV. 

XLVI. 

^XLVII. 

XLVIII. 

- XLIX. 



LL 

LII. 

LIII. 

LIV. 

LV. 

LVI. 

LVII. 

LVIII. 

LIX. 

LX. 

LXI. 



TO PACE PAGE 



THE LINE EXTENDING ITSELF BEHIND THE 

FISHERMAN AFTER THE BACKWARD SWITCH 

OF THE SALMON ROD . - . . 

THE END OF THE DOWNWARD SWITCH WITH THE 

SALMON ROD 

THE GALWAY CAST. THE BACKWARD ACTION - 
THE GALWAY CAST. THE FORWARD ACTION 
THE LOOP CAST. ROD COMING FORWARD 
THE LOOP FROM LEFT TO RIGHT — SALMON ROD 
THE LOOP FROM RIGHT TO LEFT - - - 

THE BACKWARD SWING OF THE SPEY THROW - 
THE LINE EXTENDING ITSELF ACROSS STREAM 
AFTER THE DOWNWARD SWITCH OF THE 
SALMON ROD IN THE SPEY THROW 
ON THE WYE — GAFFING A 20-POUNDER - 
ON THE TAY — A RECORD DAY's SPRING FISHING 
WITH THE SALMON FLY - - - - 

THE ATTITUDES OF THE BODY WHEN CASTING A 
SPINNING LURE FROM RIGHT TO LEFT 

THE BULLER RIVER 

THE WANGANUI 

LANDING A 2-LB. BROWN TROUT, SOUTHERN 

ISLAND 

THE OUANANICHE, THE BROOK TROUT, AND THE 

QUINNAT OR KING SALMON - - - 

TROUT FISHING IN THE ROCKIES - - - 

MY TEEPEE IN THE ROCKIES - - - - 

MY GUIDE ENGROSSED IN A NEW SPORT - 
SPINNING REEL ------ 

SPECTACLES, FLY-BOX AND FLY RETRIEVER - 



320 

325 
325 
327 
329 
330 
332 



334 
346 

352 

375 

386 
386 

386 

394 
396 
403 
403 

410 
414 



xii. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



DIAGRAMS 

1. HORIZONTAL PLANE OF A TROUT'S VISION ... gj 

2. RADIUS OF THE UPWARD VISION OF A TROUT - - 92 

3. VERTICAL SECTION OF THE UPWARD VISION OF A TROUT - 93 

4. VARIOUS KNOTS FOR FISHERMEN _ _ _ . ng 

5. VARIOUS KNOTS FOR FISHERMEN _ . _ . jjg 

6. SHOWING A PERFECTLY SAFE KNOT FOR THE LARGER 

SIZED HOOKS ....... 120 

7. THE BEST METHOD OF JOINING TWO ENDS OF GUT 

TOGETHER -- 121 

8. SHOWING THE ANGLES THROUGH WHICH THE HAND 

TRAVELS IN THE BACKWARD AND FORWARD CASTS - I55 

9. SHOWING THE CURVATURE OF THE ROD DURING THE 

RISE OF THE BACKWARD SWITCH ... - 162 

10. MOTIONS OF THE HAND AND ARM DURING THE BACK- 

WARD CAST - 163 

11. MOTIONS OF THE HAND AND ARM DURING THE FORWARD 

CAST 163 

12. SHOWING THE CURVATURE OF THE ROD IN THE FORWARD 

CAST --------- 164 

13. SHOWING THE MOVEMENT OF THE HAND IN MAKING THE 

OVERHEAD CAST - - 1 76 

14 SHOWING THE SMALL CURVATURE WHICH SHOULD BE 

MADE BY AN ADVANCING L NE - - - - 181 

15. SHOWING THE LARGE CURVATURE WHICH IS SOMETIMES 

MADE BY AN ADVANCING LINE .... 182 

16. SHOWING THE MOVEMENTS OF THE ARMS AND ROD IN 

THE BACKWARD CAST (SALMON ROD) ... 318 

17. ILLUSTRATING THE MOTION MADE BY THE UPPER HAND 

WHEN CASTING WITH A SALMON ROD - - - 319 

18. SECTION OF THE SPEY CAST 332 

19. SECTION OF THE SPEY CAST 332 

20. SECTION OF THE SPEY CAST 333 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii 

DIAGRAMS— C(?77/</. 

PAGE 

21. SECTION OF THE SPEY CAST .... ^33 

22. VARIATION OF THE WYE CAST 337 

23. SHOWING THE PASSAGE OF A LURE WHEN THROWN 

FROM AN ORDINARY NOTTINGHAM SPINNIN*:. REEL - 365 

24. SHOWING THE DIRECTION TAKEN BY A LURE WHEN NOT 

SUBJECTED TO CENTRIPETAL INFLUENCE - - 37I 

25. SHOWING THE DIRECTION TAKEN BY A LURE WHEN 

SUBJECTED TO CENTRIPETAL INFLUENCE - - 372 

26. SPINNING REEL - - 408 

27. SPINNING REEL 4O9 

28. FLY NET AND PRIEST ---... ^U 

29. THE FLY fisherman's KNIFE ----- ^Ig 



THE COMPLETE SCIENCE OF 

FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

CHAPTER I 
FLY FISHING FOR TROUT 

A consideration of fly fishing — The necessity of learning how to cast — 
Wet and dry methods of fly fishing compared. 

It cannot be claimed that there are any odds, as between a 
man and his quarry, which are more evenly balanced, or of 
more sporting a character, than the chances which lie 
between the safety of the trout on the one side, and the 
success of the dry fly fisherman on the other. No fish is 
more alert or more wary than the trout, and certainly there 
is no pursuit more engrossing, nor any sport more fascinating, 
than this method of trout fishing, and I think it may be 
maintained with justice that dry fly fishing takes a place 
second to no other pastime in the world. 

The most acceptable of our successes are those which can 
be directly traced, or even attributed, to our own mental or 
physical efforts, and for that reason the ability to cast a 
trout fly accurately and delicately is a pleasure which in 
itself is a sufficient reward at the end of a day's fishing, 
though that day may be almost barren as regards the take 
of fish. 

The satisfaction which accompanies the perfectly under- 
stood and successful use of a fly rod is undoubtedly increased 
by the pleasure which is felt by the fisherman who, after 
all too short a day spent by some lovely trout stream, can 

2 



2 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

on his return home produce a dish of speckled beauties as 
a tribute to his knowledge and the successful use of his 
treasured rod and delicate tackle. 

There are but few accomplishments more delightful to 
witness than the handling of his rod, line and fly, by the 
skilled dry fly fisherman. It is not alone the grace and 
ease which accompany the varying and always beautiful 
curves assumed by his rod and line which compel the 
admiration of the onlooker, but it is equally due to the 
instinctive recognition of the science or art which lies 
behind the exquisite result of each cast. But if the casting 
of a skilled fisherman be so admirable, can there, on the 
other hand, be any failures more humiliating than those 
which accompany the efforts of the unskilled fly fisherman. 

This book, however, is not written to extol " the gentle 
art," but with the serious object of assisting those who may 
be anxious to learn the science of fly fishing; and for his 
comfort I can assure the beginner that it is by no means a 
difficult or a lengthy process for him to acquire an absolute 
and exact method of casting a fly, so that he may be able 
with certainty to present his lure accurately and delicately 
to the trout in ninety-nine out of every hundred chances 
which occur in an average day's fishing. 

A well-known writer on piscatorial matters says : " For 
my part, indeed, I am inclined to believe that the best way 
to become an accomplished dry fly fisherman is, in these 
particular methods, to steer clear of teachers and preachers, 
either in the book or in the flesh, get down to the water, 
look out for rising trout, and hammer away till one is at 
length hooked and landed, after very many have been 
scared." 

Although this advice was seriously meant, and although 
other writers and many fishermen have argued on similar 
lines, they have all admitted the length of time required 



FLY FISHING FOR TROUT 3 

before a novice is able to cast a fly in anything like a satis- 
factory manner. Such mentors might just as well advise 
an absolute novice at cricket to don some pads, borrow a 
bat, face the bowling and fielding of an Australian eleven, 
and slog away until he has made a century, or acquired the 
skill of a Grace or a Palairet. 

How many fishermen can say that they owe nothing to 
the advice or assistance of others in their attempts at handling 
the rod ? To my infinite delight I caught a trout when 
only four years of age, but my father was there all the 
time ; and although I have since then fished for over fifty 
years and in most parts of the world, I never realized how 
absolute is the science which controls a perfect method of 
fly and bait casting until within the last few years, and 
until I had spent those years in perfecting the casting of 
others. 

The Necessity of Learning how to Cast 

With every respect, then, for the fishing abilities of the 
writer above quoted, I am fully persuaded that the one thing 
a novice can and should do before he goes down to " scare 
the trout " is to learn the art of casting a fly. 

Not only should the novice endeavour to obtain instruc- 
tion, but it might well repay the experienced fisherman to 
find out whether he can improve his style and acquire 
absolute accuracy in his casting, and even if the expert be 
well satisfied in these respects, to ascertain whether there 
may not be other styles of casting which might help him to 
get his fly to any desired spot under circumstances and 
against difiiculties which have hitherto appeared to him to 
be insurmountable. Since my first work on Fly Fishing 
was published, some eight years ago, I have established a 
school for trout and salmon fly casting, and for spinning, 
and I have had the pleasure of coaching in this school 



4 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

over 1,800 clients. This work, supplemented by a most 
exhaustive study of the whole science of casting, has shown 
me that it is possible to teach anyone an accurate and 
perfect style of casting a fly, with or against the wind, in 
both the wet and dry fly methods, with both hands, in three 
or four lessons, each of one hour's duration. Further, this 
experience has shown me that if the country be fairly clear 
between the rod and the position of the trout, that a fisher- 
man should under almost any circumstances be able to cast 
his fly accurately to a fish, so long as it be within a reasonable 
distance. 

The clients whom I have coached have varied in age, 
from the youth of seven to the veteran of seventj^-five, and 
while at least half of this number have come to me as 
complete novices in the art of fly casting, the other half 
have been more or less hardened in such faulty methods of 
casting that the pleasure which they should have experienced 
when fishing has been minimized by their inability to 
present their fly to the trout accurately, delicately, instantly 
and effectively, and my success in making them cast to 
their own and my satisfaction has more than repaid me 
for the difficulties I have had to encounter when coaching 
them. 

The beginner should consider the saving in time and 
material which he will effect by first acquiring the ability 
to cast a fly, also the satisfaction he will feel in knowing 
that when he arrives at the water-side he will not appear 
as a novice to his brother angler. 

I am convinced that the greatest success in fishing will 
attend the fisherman who, both in favourable and un- 
favourable circumstances, can with certainty cast the 
lightest and most accurate fly, and that to learn this will 
take him but a short time if he be properly coached ; that, 
without the assistance of a master in the art of casting. 



FLY FISHING FOR TROUT 5 

many, if not all, the years of the average man's fishing life 
will be stultified by mistaken conception and faulty efforts 
to acquire an art which would otherwise have taken him 
but a few hours to perfect. 

When a student is able to cast his fly lightly and accurately 
in any required direction, he can then seek his trout stream, 
and be in a position to fish with ever increasing delight 
and confidence. With a little advice from any experienced 
fisherman his progress should be rapid ; he should have 
nothing to unlearn, and may, indeed, so far as science in 
actual fly casting is concerned, step down to the water-side 
more assured as to his casting than the one from whom he 
has in other respects very much to learn. 

Wet and Dry Fly Methods of Fishing 

There are two distinct and widely different methods of 
fishing with a trout fly, and these are known as the dry and 
the wet fly methods. 

In the former, one fly only is used. This fly is cast up- 
stream just above the rise, or above the spot at which the 
trout is supposed to be lying, and is allowed to float down 
towards the fish on the surface of the water. 

In the latter, from two to four flies should be attached 
to the cast. These are cast either across and up-stream 
or across and down-stream, and in both cases are allowed to 
sink below the surface of the water. Wet fly fishing is 
in itself thus divided into two distinct variations. In the 
down-stream method of wet fly fishing the flies, at the end 
of a long line and cast, are allowed to sink well below the 
surface, and to be carried down-stream towards every spot 
where trout may be lying. The stream is thus thoroughly 
searched by the flies, both fish and lure being invisible to the 
angler, and, in consequence, no dependence can be placed 
on the rise of the fish being seen, the angler having, in most 



6 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

cases, to trust to his sense of touch for a knowledge as to 
when his fly is taken. 

In the up-stream method of wet fly fishing, a short line 
is used, and each cast is made with the definite object of 
fishing either for a rising or for a feeding fish, whose position 
is therefore either known or assumed. The flies are allowed 
to sink a few inches below the surface and the rise of 
the fish should, in consequence, be more apparent to the 
angler, the fish in this case being mostly hooked by the 
angler's initiative in striking. This style of fishing is 
undoubtedly more interesting than fishing with wet fly 
down-stream. 

In wet fly fishing up-stream the successful angler, in four 
cases out of five, is dependent on his skill and alertness in 
striking for his fish. In wet fly fishing down-stream the 
angler is dependent in four cases out of five on the chance 
of the fish hooking itself, and in this respect alone it will be 
admitted that the greater interest must centre in fishing 
up-stream. 

Advantages of Both Methods Compared 

I am convinced that the general consideration of the 
relative merits of these two methods of fly fishing is often 
obscured by the overshadowing idea of filling the basket. 
This anxiety, however, has had but little influence on those 
who have been instrumental in bringing Dry Fly Fishing 
into favour on our chalk and other trout streams. 

To the dry fly fisherman the weight of his creel takes 
second place to his love of the methods he employs. 
Personally I prefer to fish with a dry fly, even if I achieve 
nothing but an occasional rise, to fishing with a wet fly, 
and killing a number of fish. Nay ! I can regard with 
perfect composure the success of a brother angler, who, in 
using the wet fly, or even the worm, on the same water 



FLY FISHING FOR TROUT 7 

that I am fishing, fills his basket and finds me with but a 
brace of fish. It is the delightful method, more than its 
success, which makes the dry fly fisherman. 

However, whether the angler elects to fish by the dry or 
wet method, or whether he may be spinning a minnow or 
throwing a salmon fly, the essential object he has to achieve 
is to throw his line in the lightest and most accurate manner. 
He should remember that the more nearly he can extend 
his line in a horizontal direction in the forward cast, the 
more lightly will his fly or line fall on the surface of the 
water. Lightness and delicacy of casting are especially 
necessary for dry fly fishing, as the line has to be cast more 
or less over the trout, and success will depend, therefore, 
to a great extent on skill in casting. 

If the dry fly fisherman be using a fly similar in size and 
appearance to that which is being taken by a rising fish, 
and if his cast and line be thrown so that the fly alights 
accurately and delicately at from two to four feet above 
this rising trout's position immediately after a rise, and the 
fly is permitted to float on the surface of the water over the 
rising fish, the odds on the fish rising again to this fly will 
be about level ; but if the fisherman owing to his first cast 
being faulty, or to any unnatural movement of the fly, has 
to make a second cast, the odds against a rise will be as ten 
to one ; and if, for a similar reason, a third cast at the same 
fish has to be made, the odds may be regarded as about a 
hundred to one against a rise. 

Since I first ventured to express this axiom I have been 
flattered by hearing that the late Captain Marryatt, one of 
the most eminent of dry fly fishermen, formulated an almost 
similar axiom. I think, however, the odds he expressed 
against the third cast being successful in producing a rise 
were as fifty to one. 

To be successful in either of these methods of trout fly 



1 



8 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

fishing requires in addition patience, experience and 
observation. 

Many excellent fishermen confine their fishing to either 
the wet or dry fly method, but while the most successful 
fisherman generally will be he who is in reality the master of 
both, there can be no question as to which method of fishing 
requires the greater skill or affords the more delightful 
and interesting pastime. 

Even on such classical waters of dry fly fame as the 
Itchen or the Test there are days when the trout who cannot 
or who will not see the floating fly may yet be caught on the 
sunken one.* Again, there are times on northern loch or 
on the waters of wet fly streams when the wet fly expert 
may use his sunken lures in vain, but when the fish will 
eagerly take the floating fly. Both wet and dry fly can be 
used with success on the same day. The Rev. Hamilton 
Young caught in one day, on the Deveron, forty-four pounds of 
trout, using both wet and dry fly methods. Here is the 
entry from his diary : 

" The Deveron, May lo, 1899. — Fished from 9.30 

to 1.30 with wet fly, using the Hareslug and Yellow 

Cotterel. Wind south, rainy and squally ; then sun 

came out ; wind dropped. Fished with Olive 

Quill, and got most heavy trout. Total weight, 44 

pounds." 

It will be readily admitted, however, by those who are 

skilled in both methods that not only is the dry fly more 

successful in southern waters during May, June, July and 

August, but that, as a means to sport, it is infinitely more 

fascinating and delightful than the wet fly. The tendency 

of every wet fly fisherman is toward dry fly fishing, and the 

often repeated statements, " Oh, it is too scientific for me," 

" I should like to learn," etc., are my apology for dealing 

* On this subject, " Minor Tactics on our Chalk Streams," by Mr. Skues, 
is a book well worth reading. 









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FLY FISHING FOR TROUT 9 

mainly with the dry fly method. The dry fly enthusiast 
may find in this work some points with which he disagrees, 
yet I trust that the attempt to explain my views of the 
science of dry fly fishing may at least be of use to the wet 
fly fisherman and the student. It will be, therefore, the 
art of dry fly fishing to which I shall first turn the student's 
attention, dealing with the wet fly later on. 



10 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



CHAPTER II 

DRY FLY FISHING. A DAY'S COACHING ON A 
TROUT STREAM 

Preparation for a day's fishing — Approaching the water — The fly and 
the rise — Different aspects and methods of fishing — OiHng the 
fly — Greasing the line — Fishing the stream — Striking — Changing 
the fly — Netting the fish — Methods when fishing — 'A taut line — 
The rise and its advantages — Fishing the rise — Striking discussed 
— Keep your eye on the fly — A jumping fish — Undersized fish — 
Handling a trout — A killable age — The broken hook — The fly 
retriever — A big fish. 

I will assume that my reader has already mastered the 
ordinary overhead style of casting a fly,* and that therefore 
he is competent to begin fishing for trout. He is not 
obliged to know or acquire other styles of casting, however 
much these would add to his pleasure and skill in fishing, but 
as this is his first visit to a trout water, and as he may have 
no friend at hand to answer his questions, to show him 
where to throw his fly, or to tell him the nature and habits 
of the speckled beauties he is so anxious to secure, I must 
lead him still further afield in the study of this delightful 
and engrossing pursuit, and show him not only where to 
cast his fly, but how to determine what fly he should use, 
where the fish are to be most readily found, and how to 
catch them. 

With this object will you come with me for a few hours' 
dry fly fishing. You can leave the rod and line with which 
you have been practising at home, but first remember to 

* See instructions contained in Chapter IX., as to the method of learning 
to cast a dry fly. 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 11 

unwind that portion of the line which has been previously 
wetted. Make it up in your hand (if you have no winder) 
into large loops ; put your rod on the horizontal rests and 
hang up your winder, or put the loops of the line on the butt 
of your rod. A fishing-rod should always be supported in 
three places at least — each end and the middle. We will 
take my own rod, which is all ready for use, with gut cast 
and fly attached. The first thing to be considered is 
whether we have everything we shall want, and if we are 
quite prepared for our fishing. Let us see. Are you well 
shod with good serviceable watertight boots with plenty 
of nails ? All right. Then, as you have your tobacco, 
pipe, and matches, and some sandwiches, never mind 
anything else to-day. I have all that is required — my 
creel, my net, etc. Your tweeds are a good colour, but 
you had better put on a soft cap, as that straw hat of yours 
is too conspicuous. And now, while we are walking down 
to the lower end of our water, we can discuss the nature of 
the day's sport. We shall fish — that is, cast the fly — up- 
stream, which, except when fishing on still water, is essential 
for dry fly fishing. The dry fly must not be influenced by 
any motion of the line or rod after it has alighted, and by 
casting up-stream the fly floats down towards the fisherman, 
who steadily takes up the slack line as it comes back to 
him, either by the hand, the reel, or by raising the point 
of his rod, but in whichever way the slack line is raised of^ 
the water, it must not interfere with that portion of the 
line and cast near the fly. The fly must float easily and 
naturally down stream as any drag or movement imparted 
to it will most certainly scare the ordinary trout.* 

The dry fly fisherman, all circumstances being alike, is 
far less likely to be seen by the trout than is the wet fly 

* For full instruction as to the best method of gathering in the slack line 
when fishing out a dry fly cast, see paige 50. 



12 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

fisherman, and consequently can take his sport more at his 
ease. For he of the wet fly who fishes up-stream has to 
use a shorter line, and is consequently nearer the fish, 
while he who fishes down-stream is faced by the trout, 
and has to exercise the greatest caution in order to escape 
observation. Trout lie invariably with their heads pointed 
up-stream or against the current, and are in consequence 
looking away from the up-stream, but towards the down- 
stream fisherman. Trout can easily see from a point 
right ahead to an angle of 150 degrees on either side 
in the plane in which they are lying, leaving an angle of 
about 60 degrees in which the fisherman may escape observa- 
tion, provided he is not perched too much over them, so 
that in fishing outside this zone of safety he must endeavour 
to be as near the surface of the water as possible (see " The 
Vision of Trout," p. 88). This position of the trout, facing 
up-stream, is also an important advantage to the angler 
when fishing up-stream, for when striking his hook will be 
pulled back into the mouth of the trout, instead of being 
pulled from or out of the mouth of the trout, as is the case 
when fishing down-stream. See p. 91. 

As we are now approaching the stream, we will look at 
the water and see if anything is moving. By standing here 
and looking up stream we shall not scare the fish, and in 
order to see if the trout are feeding we must look out for 
any unusual movement on the surface of the water, such as 
the ring or dimple made by a rising fish. No, there is 
nothing moving yet ; it is perhaps a little too early or not 
quite warm enough to tempt the sub-imago — i.e., the first 
flying state of the various water insects — to leave their 
shelter on the banks of the stream, or to impel the pupae to 
come to the surface in order to enter their aerial life, and 
therefore, until some forms of insect life begin to move on 
or to the surface, the trout are not likely to rise. In my 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 13 

creel is a small and light telescopic butterfly-net and 
priest ; it is ready for use in a few seconds, and by its aid I 
catch that gnat-like fly floating on the water. It is a flying 
form of water insect life called the Blue Quill, the very fly 
the trout were taking yesterday. Look ! There is another 
one on the water floating down, probably one of a previous 
so-called hatch of the same fly. I will catch him to make 
certain. Watch how I do it. I slip the net into the watei 
just in the way of the fly, which floats into it. Here he is. 
clinging to the muslin. Now look at these two flies carefully. 
You can see at once that both are just like the Blue Quill 
fly on my line, one of the best-known flies on southern 
English waters. If you fit this watchmaker's magnifying- 
glass into your eye, you will notice more distinctly the colour 
and appearance of its delicate wings, its body, and its legs.* 

Now we will see if there is any rise. No, there are no 
signs of a move yet, as the pupae which will form to-day's 
hatch are possibly waiting among the weeds until the water 
becomes a little warmer or perhaps altered by some 
meteorological change, before rising to the surface, and 
therefore the trout have not been as yet excited by their 
appearance. 

We had better, therefore, continue our walk down to 
out starting-point at the lower end of our water. What ! 
You saw a rise ? Where ? Oh, I see. That is not a 
trout, but a water-rat. See him working his way up-stream 
among the rushes and under the long grass of the bank. 
Notice how he makes a long slanting, rippling line from the 
bank out into the stream, instead of the detached ripple or 

* If a fly is caught the name of which is unknown to the student, it should 
be compared with the flies in his fly box and its name thus ascertained, or 
placed in a small specimen bottle and either shown to a friendly authority 
or forwarded to the author of this book or to the retailer with whom the 
student may deal. By this means a general entomological knowledge will 
be obtained. A single watchmaker's glass is always a most useful adjunct 
to carry in your fishing bag. also a small butterfly net. 



14 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

ring peculiar to the rise of a fish. The rise of a trout varies 
in size, from the most delicate circular dimple of the big 
fish feeding near the surface, to the splash and wave made 
by some small fish as he jumps clean out of the water, in his 
eagerness to get the fly. We will now go on down-stream, 
keeping well away from the water, as we don't want to 
frighten the fish. Trout, as I said before, lie with their 
heads up-stream, and their attention is thus directed to 
any food which may come floating down toward them 
either on or below the surface of the water ; it is necessary, 
therefore, for the fisherman to find out what the trout are 
feeding on, and then present this food to them in the most 
natural manner possible. The wet fly fisherman does this 
by sinking his flies below the surface, and dropping them 
down-stream toward the fish, and the dry fly fisherman 
throws his fly up-stream on the surface of the water, and 
above the trout, and lets it float down to the fish. 

The food which the wet or dry fly fisherman has to 
imitate, in order to attract and secure the trout, are the 
various forms of water insects, either in their larval, sub- 
imago or imago state. The transition from the pupal to 
the sub-imago form is quite naturally, though erroneously, 
alluded to by most fishermen as " hatching." The water 
insect is hatched when it leaves the e^^ and enters the larval 
stage of its life, not when it undergoes the metamorphosis 
into the sub-imago, or imago state. 

There is but little difference in the appearance of an 
Ephemera when it is bursting its mask and entering into 
its sub-imago existence and that of the sub-imago in a 
drowned condition, and it is therefore in these two con- 
ditions that the wet fly fisherman imitates its appearance 
and presents it to the trout. But it is only when this 
water insect is in its living and flying sub-imago or imago 
condition that the dry fly fisherman copies its appearance. 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 15 

Hence you will readily understand that the latter has not 
only to use the more perfect and life-like form of fly, but to 
present it poised naturally and in life-like condition on the 
surface of the water. The wet fly fisherman can, on the 
other hand, present flies to the trout either on or under the 
surface of the water, and in a far less perfect condition. 

Now, as the water is clear and the weather is warm, 
flying water insects will soon be numerous, consequently 
the fish will be taking the dry fly, and therefore we will first 
of all try our friend the Blue Quill ; for two things are 
certain : that the fish were taking this fly yesterday, and 
also that there are some of these flies already on the water, 
and probably there will be an early hatch of the same kind 
before long. We have seen no rise, it is true, but we may 
be able to tempt a fish before the rise proper commences, 
and this I call " fishing the stream." When the rise com- 
mences we shall try for rising fish, and this I call " fishing 
the rise." There is more scientific knowledge required 
when fishing the stream with a dry fly than in fishing the 
rise, and the former is perhaps the more successful method 
throughout the day ; for while the rise may be uncertain 
and very brief, fish can be taken at all times during the day, 
if a knowledge of the locality and the habits of trout be 
possessed, by casting the fly in the most likely spots, even 
though the trout are not rising in the strict sense of the 
term. 

The dry fly fisherman should fish the rise when it is 
apparent, and fish the stream at all other times. It is 
impossible for anyone to see more than a limited extent of 
the water, even in his immediate vicinity, and innumerable 
rises may, therefore, escape his notice. Fish are not always 
feeding, and even when feeding are by no means always 
rising to the surface. It follows, therefore, that if a fly is 
cast in all likely places — while not omitting at the same time 



16 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

to keep a sharp look-out for rising fish — trout will be taken 
whose rise has not been seen, or who may not have felt 
inclined to rise before seeing the angler's fly. 

In both wet and dry fly fishing, you offer to the fish food 
which you consider is most likely to excite its desire, and you^ 
try to present this food in a manner most nearly approach- 
ing the natural conditions in which it is generally observed 
by the trout. If the catching of fish be the principal object 
of fishing, then the greatest importance must be attached to 
that method of angling which presents food, or imitations of 
food to the fish, in a form and in a manner most nearly 
approaching the occurrence and the appearance of the food 
of their every-day life. 

During the course of the year, the food upon which the 
trout most commonly feed consists of worms, water shrimps, 
larval and pupal forms of insect life, and the drowned or 
partially submerged forms of flying or other insects, and as 
these only exist to the trout below the surface of the water, 
the most killing lures should be those which are submerged 
and which represent the above-mentioned foods. 

But the occupation of trout fishing cannot now be regarded 
as a means of livelihood, but merely as a sporting pastime, 
which offers, at its best, a relaxation to our worries and our 
cares, or at least presents a very pleasant and charming 
variation to the pleasures of life, and it is for this reason 
that the style or the method of fly fishing which gives the 
greatest pleasure and which affords the keenest enjoyment 
with the least sacrifice of fish life, will be that which will 
eventually become the recognised method of fly fishing with 
sportsmen. 

As the wet fly method of fishing superseded bottom fishing 
as a sport, so is dry fly fishing rapidly superseding much of 
the time hitherto spent on wet fly fishing, and however much 
may be said in favour of the latter, however killing it may 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 17 

be in the early months of the year, however great is the 
art of using the sunken lure on a dry fly stream during the 
rest of the year — still, the method of dry fly fishing will, 
season by season, claim an ever-increasing number of 
devotees. 

There are many excellent dry fly fishermen whose 
greatest pleasure is to devote themselves to killing some 
particularly big or wily trout, and who, with this intent, 
neglect other and more easily caught trout in order to creel 
this — the one object of their sport. There are others who 
will cast for none other than a rising fish, viz., a fish which 
they or their gillie may have been lucky enough to notice 
when rising, and who, failing to spot such a rise, are content 
to linger for long hours mooning about the bank of the trout 
stream, until they or their man happen to spot a rising 
fish.* Such men look upon the fisherman who fishes for a 
fish which he sees, or which he knows will be located in any 
definite position — but which may not be rising — as a sort 
of poacher, or at the best as wanting in sporting instincts. 

There are others — and good fishermen too — whose great 
pleasure is to see the fish before casting, and thus to have 
the delight of watching the rise, when they cast to the fish 
they have spotted. These at least are most likely to learn 
how to temper their methods to suit the fish, for they have 
the advantage of seeing the effect they produce when 
casting. 

There are others — I am one of them — who may not possess 
the keenness of vision always to see the fish below the 
surface, who may not have the leisure to moon about a trout 
stream, waiting, like the sick at the pool of Siloam, for the 
stirring of the waters, but whose principal delight is that, by 
the skilfulness of their casting, their knowledge of the fish, 

♦ A tendency fostered by their having to confine their fishing to a limited 
amount of water. 



18 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

flies and stream combined, they are able to induce the fish, 
non-rising or otherwise, to rise to their fly. 

I have known dear old friends of mine contented to sit 
in a hut, or on their mackintoshes, hour after hour waiting 
for a rise — which was occurring all through the day, un- 
observed either by them or their drowsy attendant — when 
had they been younger, possessed of more energy and 
knowledge of where the trout lay, they would have been 
enjoying the delight of casting a dry fly, and backing their 
knowledge and skill against the adverse circumstances of 
non-rising fish. As a well-known sportsman said to me : 
" I do not much care whether I catch fish or not, it is 
the delight of casting a dry fly to every likely spot which not 
only affords me a constant pleasure, but well repays a day 
spent by the river side." 

Oiling the Fly 

We have now reached our starting-point, and before 
commencing we will carefully examine our tackle. First 
let me caution you against laying the rod on the ground, 
as this is always dangerous ; for even if you should 
never tread on it yourself, someone else might possibly do 
so. Press the spear, which should be always fitted into the 
butt end of the rod, firmly but delicately into a soft tuft of 
grass, and you have thus both hands at liberty. If you 
drive the rod into the ground with a jerk you will put a 
strain on to your winch, especially if it be a Nottingham one, 
which may injure it, and in any case a jerk can do no good 
to the rod. When you have no spear, place the butt of 
the rod on the ground and let the upper part rest against 
the body between the arms. You have, as before, your 
hands at liberty. Now the rod is standing up out of any 
danger, and we must look carefully at the gut cast and 
at the fly, and see that they are in good order. Everything 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 19 

being all right, we must render the fly as buoyant as possible, 
and this we do by applying some odourless paraffin-oil. 

The most convenient form and the cleanest and best 
method of carrying the oil necessary for this purpose is in 
a small box such as that which I have in my hand (see 
final chapter). The box shuts tightly and opens with a 
spring. Inside is a small pad of woollen felt, which should 
be saturated with odourless paraffin before leaving home. 
The fly, after being dried by switching the rod backward 
and forward, is pressed down by the finger and thumb on 
to this saturated pad, taking care not to injure the wings, 
and some of the oil held in the pad is thereupon transferred 
to the fly. In order to get rid of any superfluous oil, it is 
advisable to press the fly on the pad in the lid of the box, 

I certainly advise you to apply some grease to the line 
and cast. I am by no means forgetting the prevalent idea 
that a floating cast may put the trout down, or that the 
life of a cast is injured by the use of fat. I do not think that 
a good and carefully prepared gut cast will suffer from the 
application of any pure fatty substance. In very clear water 
on a fine day, a floating cast will produce more shadow than 
the same cast when submerged, and on a well-fished and 
shallow chalk stream, the more defined the shadow cast by 
the line, the more likely is it to scare the trout ; but I have 
in other ways noticed the very great advantage which a 
floating cast possesses, and to secure this advantage I take 
care that my cast is sufficiently greased to float on the 
surface.* 

In any case, I should advise the reader to use pure 
animal fats, and to avoid chemical mixtures, however 
much they may be advertised ; for although greasy to the 
touch, they have frequently a pernicious effect on the 

* By a floating cast I mean one which will lie straight and evenly, and 
only partially submerged, on the surface of the water. 



20 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

delicate lines and casts used in dry fly fishing. Now we are 
ready. 

Fishing the Stream 

You see, there are one or two more Blue Quill coming 
down, but no signs of a trout, and as we have plenty of 
water ahead, we will try and tempt the fish to rise to our 
fly. Now, this is where experience and stream lore are so 
necessary. Although brown trout alter their position, they 
seldom go far from their own particular retreat, yet the 
wind, the time of day, the heat or cold, the clear or thick 
state of the water, considerably affect their movements. 
Loch Leven trout are rarely stationary when feeding, 
moving from one position in a pool to another. 

Loch trout, and I think Loch Leven trout in particular, 
when introduced into our southern rivers, are far more 
inclined to move from place to place in search of food than 
are the brown trout which inhabit rhem. The reason for 
this may be due to the inherited instinct of trout — indigenous 
to lochs — which have to seek their food, so far as flying insects 
are concerned, in ever varying localities in their domain ; 
while the river trout are obliged to wait in the most favour- 
able position near their place of refuge until their food is 
brought to them by the wind or by the current on one or 
the other side of the stream they inhabit. The trout in 
lochs, having to roam the water world of the lakes they 
inhabit for their food, are accustomed to gain security by 
flight into the comparatively limitless regions surrounding 
them. 

To men who only cast for rising fish, Loch Leven trout 
on a deepish stream are a rather worrying proposition, 
for some time, at least, after their introduction — for they 
prefer the deeper pools, and as the movements of the fish 
under water cannot, or should not, be seen, and as the spot 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 21 

at which the Loch Leven trout rises varies from moment to 
moment, the fisherman who only casts to the rise will, however 
correctly and quickly his fly may reach the spot at which 
the rise has taken place, be too late, for the fish will fail 
to see the fly, having moved off to rise again in some new 
and unexpected position. When, therefore, in such a case 
a feeding fish is seen at work it is of little use casting to its 
rise. The stream must be fished, and the fly thrown, so 
as to anticipate if possible its progress from one place to 
another. 

The most successful fisherman is, therefore, he who has, 
from former experience, an intuitive knowledge of just 
where a trout is likely to be lying, and also what the trout 
is likely to be thinking about when there. So now, with no 
fish in sight — i.e., rising — I yet feel confident that there 
ought to be a decent fish just at the lower side of the opening 
between those weeds, also that he is thinking about food, 
and that on this occasion it is floating food. I shall try, 
therefore, to place my fly about two feet above the opening, 
so that it will float down to where I think he is waiting. 
It is a nice easy cast of about fifteen yards right up- 
stream ; the breeze is also up-stream, and therefore in our 
favour. 

You will notice that I get my correct length of line, 
not by trial casting in the air over the fish, which would 
scare him, but by casting in the air to one side or the other. 
Now watch ! There ! The fly has fallen just in the right 
place. See, the wings are beautifully cocked, and the fly 
is sailing down through the opening of the weeds, and as 
it does so I take in the slack of the line as it comes back to 
me.* There! Tut ! tut ! I have missed him ! Of course, 
I don't blame myself — fishermen rarely do so. I think, 
or say I think, he came rather short ; but one thing is certain 
* See " Slack line," page 50. 



22 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

— he came at my fly. I flick my line backward and for- 
ward in the air twice, and my fly is quite dry again, so I will 
try once more. There ! just as before : the fly floated 
down beautifully, but I missed him again. 

Striking 

While still emphasizing the importance of striking 
immediately the fish rises, it is advisable to warn you that 
there are some occasions when it may be better to vary 
such a practice. At the beginning of the rise of the May fly 
for instance, the trout and other fish appear to be somewhat 
shy of gulping flying insect food presented to them on a 
scale, comparatively speaking, larger than that of the ordinary 
flying insects upon which they feed, and instead of taking 
the new food boldly into the mouth they take hold of a 
part only of the fly, for the purpose, I think, of dragging it 
under water and investigating its character. If, then, at the 
beginning of a rise of May fly, or of any other flying insect, 
you fail to hook the fish you strike at, you will probably 
find it worth your while before striking, to give the trout 
time enough to shift his grip from what may be only the 
wing of the fly presented to him. 

The failure to hook a rising fish then, may be due, first 
of all, to striking in a tardy or slow manner, and secondly, 
on rare occasions, to striking too quickly. 

I have heard that a well-known authority on the entomology 
of our chalk streams has declared that in a May fly rise 
the numerals up to three should be repeated aloud after 
the trout has seized the fly, and before the strike is made. 
Any such dictum must of course be regarded as contro- 
vertible, however successful it may be under circumstances 
such as those mentioned above, or when the trout are 
" coming short," and " playing with " or " drowning " 
your fly. 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 23 

The strike should be made as the trout rises at the fly, 
for the fish, after taking the fly, will as a rule turn down 
stream, then round, and up stream again to his original 
position, and the strike if delayed may pull the fly out of 
the mouth of the fish as it faces down stream and towards 
the fisherman.* 

The big trout will reject a fly just as quickly as the 
small one, but the little trout is more likely to play with, 
to come short, or to wish to " drown " a fly than the former, 
and therefore at each rise there should as a rule be no delay 
in striking — but if the immediate strike proves abortive, 
then — and not till then — can a more delayed manner of 
striking be experimented with. When fishing with the 
natural stone fly, that is to say, the Northern May fly, 
when dapping with the natural May fly on the southern 
and Irish streams, unless the fish are rising furiously, it is 
better to pause for the fraction of a second in order that the 
fly, which may have been only partly seized, may be taken 
completely into the mouth of the trout. A natural fly, 
if properly attached to the hook, is less likely to be rejected 
than is the artificial, and the pause I now suggest is not 
likely to result in the rejection of a natural fly if it be only 
partially taken into the mouth of the fish, but will lead to 
a more complete seizure. 

A pause before striking, however, is here worth trying, 
so that at the next rise we had better not strike until 
one second has elapsed. Now I dry my fly once more and 
cast again. There ! he is rising — now I strike — with no 
greater success than before. I will try him just once 
again — no luck ! 

* Francis Francis says : — " As to giving any direct rules when to strike, 
they would be of little avail, as sometimes fish rise quickly, and take quickly, 
sometimes with more circumspection, and sometimes altogether falsely. 
Practice alone will teach the angler what to do, and how and when to do it, 
and all arguments about it are mere waste of time." — .J Work on Angling, 
1885. 



24 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

We will now give him a rest, and try somewhere else ; as 
the fish are not on the shallows yet, let us try the opposite 
side just by the bank. The water is deep and dark, and if 
one is there he will be a big one. You see that I now stoop 
well down, as much out of sight as possible, when I cast, 
because from here I am more noticeable to the fish opposite' 
than to the one we have just missed (see " Vision of Trout," 
p. 88). I have three tries, but no luck. If one is there he 
is not to be tempted. We will try our first friend again. 
I can stand upright again, being almost directly behind him. 

I dry my line and fly by three preliminary switches, 
and again the fly alights just above the opening and floats 
down, but this time I get no notice at all from the trout. 
Once more — failure again ! Well, as I don't like to leave 
a rising fish, we will try another fly, and this time one of a 
warmer tint. Often it is a good plan, when the fish have not 
started really feeding on the fly of yesterday, to try a fly 
with red hackles. So you see this fly in my cap that I am 
going to use ; it is called the Red Quill. It has double 
starling wings, red hackle, and quill body. I now press the 
spear of the rod into the turf again, and my hands are free. 
You see these small but sharp scissors in my knife, which 
I have secured by a chain and keep in my right-hand coat 
pocket ; I snip off the gut with them close to the eye of the 
hook, cutting the knot if possible, and, after clearing out 
the gut from the eye of the hook with the pricker in the 
knife, stick the fly into my cap, just where you see two or three 
more flies of the same colour. I place the end of the gut in 
my mouth to soften while I detach the Red Quill by taking 
it firmly between the finger and thumb, and by working it 
gently, it readily comes free from the rough material of 
my cap. I now shp the end of the softened gut through the 
eye of the fly, passing it round the cast above the eye in an 
overhand knot. I then draw this knot taut, and by 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 26 

pulling on the cast bring this overhand knot close to the 
eye of the fly. I have used as small an end as possible, 
which I now cut off.* The Red Quill fly must now be oiled 
as before. We are now ready again. The scissors of 
the knife are now closed, it and the oil box are placed 
in my pocket, and I take the rod, lift the spear out of 
the ground, get my length, and cast again. Now watch ! 

Netting the Fish 
There ! He has risen, you see, and now, by a slight 
upward movement of my hand, I have hooked the trout, 
and before he has time to realize what is the matter I have 
drawn him below and away from the dangerous vicinity of 
the weeds. See ! how he fights to get back to his retreat, 
but it is no good. Now he is trying to bore down into that 
dark hole ; there may be danger there, so I keep him well 
up. I have plenty of water, and by a firm but gentle 
opposition, I check every rush he makes, keeping my rod 
well up, and finally bring my prize well below the unfished 
water. My left hand is winding up the reel, and the ever- 
shortening line is bringing him nearer and nearer. Note 
the end of the rod ; it is well up, and the bend is nearly 
always the same, for the line must never be slack after the 
fish is hooked, and the necessary strain is achieved by the 
delicacy of the grip of the hand which holds the rod. By 
careful play I have at last beaten him, and the line is short 
enough to make the landing-net available, so my left hand 
leaves the reel and steals to the net ; it is lifted out of its 
ring and flicked out to its full length, and then, gently 
stooping, I bring the rod well back and steer the fish slowly 
towards the net, which you see I hold diagonally, well 
under the water, keeping it quite stationary until the trout 

* For further particulars of this and other kinds of knots see Chapters 
VII. and XVI. 



26 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

is above it. Then, by a steady lift, I have the beauty secure, 
and carry him up the bank. 

Once more my spear is used, my rod is safe, and my 
disengaged right hand grasps the fish below the gills, the 
thumb and forefinger seeking the gill opening, leaving my 
left to kill and unhook my fish. Notice how well hooked 
he is — fairly back in the lower part of the tongue. Here 
again let me remind you of the advantage in the dry fly 
method. As you now know, the fish takes the fly in most 
cases when he sees it coming towards him from up-stream ; 
when, therefore, you are fishing below him, the hook, as 
a natural consequence, is pulled into his jaw, as in this 
case, instead of being jerked out of his mouth, as when 
fishing above him, and this shows that the chance of 
hooking a rising fish by the up-stream method is infinitely 
greater than when wet fly fishing down-stream. 

It is a good fish and w^U above the size limit, so it will go 
into the creel ; but how are we to kill it ? When a trout 
exceeds half a pound the most merciful and cleanest method 
of administering the coup de grace is to give it a smart tap 
on the top of the head. For this purpose a " priest " is 
usually carried. My priest forms the lower end of my small 
fly net.* Here it is, its end conveniently protruding from 
my creel. The fish is now hors de combat, and we can 
take the fly out of its mouth and drop the fish into the 
creel. 

I therefore open the file (for sharpening the points of 
flies, etc.) contained in my knife, the end of the file being a 
disgorger having a lancet face on the lower side ; with this 
I lance the tongue, and by a gentle pressure of this disgorger 
on the bend of the hook, the gut being held tight by the 
forefinger on the file, I instantly free the hook without 
injuring the fly by any rough pressure on the wings, etc. 

* For particulars as to fly-net, and the knife, see final chapter. 



PLATE II 



Netting a Fish. 



I. — NEITINC A FISH. THE FIRST ATTEMFT 

FAILS AS THE ROD IS NOT HELD 

SUFFICIENTLY BACK AND THE FISHERMAN 

CANNOT BRING HIS FISH OVER HIS NET. 




4. — THIS TIME THE ROD IS HELD 

WELL BACK AND THE FISH 

EASILY NETTED. 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 27 

It is, however, more or less soiled by the slime from 
the trout's mouth, so I cast it down-stream and pull 
it through the water once or twice, and thus wash it. A 
few flicks overhead, and it is once more dry and fit for 
work. 

It will be advisable here to say a few words as to the 
correct method of netting a fish. A fish should always be 
regarded as lightly hooked, and the greatest caution should 
be shown in playing him until he is safely inside your 
landing net, the object being — first to tire him, and then at 
the critical moment, when he has exhausted himself, and 
before he has time to recover, to draw him quietly into the 
net. The fisherman should show himself as little as possible, 
and keep the net down below the surface of the water 
until the fish is well over it. 

I was lucky enough to be able to obtain some photographs 
of a friend of mine when playing and landing a trout on one 
of the delightful streams belonging to the Lake Vyrnwy 
Hotel.* You will notice in Figs. 1 and 2, Plate II., that he 
is standing on a large rock, and that he has hooked a fish. 
Thinking he had tired his fish out, he attempted to land it 
without drawing his rod sufficiently back over his shoulder, 
and, although it will be seen that he has knelt down and 
extended his net as far as possible, he has failed in drawing 
the fish within its reach, and has only succeeded in frightening 
it into another run for freedom. Luckily it was well hooked, 
and my friend, by jumping from the big rock on to the 
smaller one (see Figs. 3 and 4, Plate II.), and by altering his 
method and bringing his rod back well over his shoulder, 
has been able to draw the fish within easy reach and finally 
succeeds in landing it. 

We will now try the bank again on the further side. 
There is still no rise, but a fish, and a good one, should be 

♦One of the most charming and delightful fishing resorts in the world. 



28 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

there. Take the rod in your hand, keep as low as you can, 
and try a cast. 

Don't be nervous. Imagine that you are casting your 
fly on the lawn, and look at the water where you wish to 
cast — close by that root on the other side — and take plenty 
of time. It is not a matter of life and death, and if you do 
make a bad cast and frighten the fish there are plenty 
more just above. Steady ! You are forgetting your 
lessons in the excitement of the moment ; you made your 
forward cast too soon, before your line had straightened 
itself behind you, and the fly has fallen but half-way to the 
spot you wished to reach.* Try again. Dry the fly well and 
let your pause be longer after you have switched the fly 
back — so — pause. Now cast. Well done ! A good straight 
line, and the fly has fallen lightly. Let your left hand fall 
at once on the reel, and as the line comes back with the 
stream, reel up for a bit. Don't let your hand leave the 
reel ; raise your rod a little as the line comes still further 
back. Look out ! Strike ! Steady ! You have him ; 
Bring him out from the bank and down-stream. Dear! 
dear! By dropping the point of your rod you slackened 
your line and you have allowed him to get into the weeds. 
Keep a steady strain on the rod ; luckily he is only in the 
lower end of the weeds, and we shall perhaps get him out 
as he is beginning to struggle I Steady and firm. There 
he comes ! He is free again, and exhausted. Reel in with 
your left hand — easy ; let him go a little if he makes a 
rush, and then reel in again. Keep at him. Keep the 
point of your rod higher. That's better. The net is all 
ready ; bring him in slowly and quietly toward it. 

There, I have him for you, and have given him the coup 
de grace. Quite a beauty. Well done ! Your first fish and 
eleven ounces if he is a penny- weight. The barb is in 
* See instructions, page 155. 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 29 

his lip and we do not want a disgorger. It is soon out of 
his mouth, and we will now weigh him. Thirteen ounces. 
Quite a good fish. 

Now remember this axiom : " Never take your eye off 
the fly when it is on the water." In this case you took 
your eye away from the fish when it was hooked, in order to 
guide your hand to the reel, and you dropped the point of 
the rod and slackened the line, and as a consequence the 
fish got into the weeds. 

A Taut Line 

A sporting wish to a person about to fish is that he may 
have a " taut " or a " tight " line, and this wish may be 
supplemented by the hope that he may keep it so. 

A tight line is a necessity after any fish is hooked and 
until the fish is safely creeled, and for this reason — the barb 
of the hook does not in many instances penetrate the fleshy 
part of the trout or salmon's mouth, the point being merely 
fixed in the skin or bone of its jaw, etc. When a fish 
is hooked it naturally endeavours to extricate the hook 
which is galling its mouth and depriving it of its freedom, 
and for this purpose it employs its tongue to displace the 
fly when the hook is not firmly in the flesh. So long there- 
fore as a strain is kept on the line — that is as long as the 
rod point is kept well up and the line taut between it and 
the fish, its endeavours to thus obtain its freedom are 
frustrated. It is only when a momentary slackening of the 
line occurs through the rod point being lowered, or the 
slack of the line not being taken in with sufiicient speed as 
the fish runs towards the fisherman, that this opportunity 
occurs. It will be frequently noticed, after a fish is safely 
netted, that the fly has left the mouth, the reason being, 
of course, that the first slackening of the line which has 
occurred since it was hooked has been after the fish was 



30 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

in the net, the fish only then being able to extricate the 
hook. When you dropped your rod point just now, the 
trout, not being able to free its mouth of the hook, was yet 
nearly successful in gaining its freedom by being able to 
get into the weeds.* 

On page 209 of Mr. Halford's latest work he suggests that 
when a fish is hooked among weeds the line should be 
slackened, in order that the trout may not be frightened 
into the weeds surrounding him, and the illustration between 
a trout and a driven pig is then used. This simile is not 
a good one, however, because while the driver can afford to 
slacken the line holding the pig — it being securely fastened, 
so that if piggy goes the wrong way he can be hauled back — 
the fisherman cannot afford to slacken his line, because 
it is not fastened to the trout, and, in two cases out of five, 
a slack line will mean losing the fish. 

In order to keep these trout we have caught and your 
creel or fishing-bag sweet, it is a very good plan, if you have 
no dry hay, to gather a few leaves of the wild thyme or 
mint which you see growing by the water-side, and put 
them with the trout ; it abates the fly nuisance. If you 
wish to send your fish to your friends, the best packing is 
something which is dry — dry hay for choice — and always 
remember that the creel or fish-bag should invariably be 
well washed and hung up to dry every night when the trout 
are taken out. 

The Rise and its Advantages 
While you have been creeling your fish you did not see 
that rise just above. Look ! Ah ! You saw it that time, 
and now you know what you have to look out for when I 
tell you to watch for a rise. 

Now a few words as to the rise. It does not follow that 

* For instructions on playing a fish, etc., see p. 53. 



A DAY'S DRY FLY FISHING 31 

the commotion caused by a rise bears any relative proportion 
to the fish making it, and " the bigger the fish the more 
gentle the rise " is almost an axiom. The reasons for this 
are simple. The dignified assurance with which a big trout 
rises at a floating fly is due, not only to his greater experi- 
ence, but to the fact that he is more often in the deeper and 
more slowly running portions of the stream ; and the 
floating fly therefore comes into his ken and towards his 
station slowly, and permits of a well-regulated and 
leisurely approach. 

His smaller brother, on the other hand, is more often 
found in the shallow and rapidly running portions of the 
stream ; hence, not only from the greater rapidity with 
which a floating fly will travel, but from the uncertainty of 
a lesser experience, and possibly from having a keener 
appetite, he will be galvanised into a more impulsive action 
when taking the fly. This rush will of necessity disturb the 
surface more, and make it appear a more important rise, 
than will the self-controlled action of the older or bigger 
fish. 

See there again, under the bank in the deep water, about 
thirty yards higher up. Just a dimple, no more. As there 
are no Red Quill on the water, we will now go back to the 
Blue Quill. We can dispense with the butterfly-net, 
which is closed in three seconds, and placed in the fishing- 
creel ready for use when required. 

Fishing the Rise 

We can now fish the rise, for we know where certain 
feeding fish are by these rises, and also which fly they are 
apparently taking. There is no necessity to brmg experi- 
ence and knowledge to bear in order to determine the 
probable position of the trout ; we have only to notice the 
rise, and try for rising fish. 



32 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

There's a rise again by our bank, just ahead. You can 
locate the exact place of the rise, which is three feet from 
the bank, just opposite that sedge. If you do not take some 
landmark, your eye will follow the ripple as it comes down 
with the stream, and you will probably cast your fly below 
the actual position of the fish. 

When a trout has risen, the sooner the fly is placed above 
him the better. His appetite has just been whetted by a 
tasty morsel — he has probably not yet turned to his former 
position, and the swirl of the water, his own motion, and the 
alteration of his position will probably prevent a too 
analytical scrutiny of the fall and the appearance of the line 
and fly you present to him. 

Take the rod, and when you have found the distance 
cast the fly lightly, just two feet above the position we have 
marked. No ! no ! What a mess you have made of it ! 
You are again forgetting your lessons in your eagerness, 
and have smashed your line on the water, and probably put 
the fish down. In making your downward cast, instead of 
finishing when your forearm was level with the elbow and 
the rod inclined at an angle of about twenty-two degrees 
above the horizon, and then lowering your rod as the 
line travelled forward, you brought your rod right down 
almost to the water, and consequently the direction of your 
line was downward instead of horizontal. It's no good trying 
for that fish again ! Try for the one in the middle that has 
just risen, and project your line horizontally, so that your 
fly will fall on the water about two feet above the position 
at which he last rose. Don't make the back cast too soon ; 
let the fly get well below the place where the fish rose. 
A trout will at times let a fly pass, and then turn and follow 
it down-stream ; and even if the fish does not then take the 
fly, he would be scared by your lifting your line too soon. 
N ow lift your rod and made another cast. That one is better. 



A DAY'S COACHING 33 

Now look out ! Strike ! You were too late, and too 
forcible. It only requires a small upward movement 
of the forearm and hand to hook the fish so long as your 
line is straight. Just wait a minute, and give him a 
rest while you listen to me. The strike depends a great 
deal on a person's temperament. Some men are always 
slow, and others quick. An immediate strike will become 
a habit after a time, but there is always the personal 
equation which dominates the rapidity of the individual 
action. The health and condition of the mind and body 
will always affect even the most experienced fisherman, 
and an alert, nervous temperament and a straight line are 
the best factors to ensure success. You will gradually 
become more proficient in striking when you have had 
further practice. 

If a strike is made when the hand is off the reel and the 
line is not held in either hand, but runs untouched from the 
reel to the fly, then the angler is said to have struck from 
the reel. 

In dry fly fishing the art of striking firmly and gently is 
of the greatest importance. Very little weight can be lifted 
by an ordinary trout rod, and the strength of the end point 
of your gut cast will determine what force may be used 
when striking. Little as may be the pull, however, which 
the gut can stand, it sometimes happens that the hold of 
the hook in the mouth of the trout is considerably less. 
Consequently, for the man whose hand is heavy, striking 
from the reel is recommended, always provided that the 
check of the drum and its inertia is not greater than the 
force applied. With even a slightly resisting check, 
the pull will be sufficient to drive the hook home into the 
softer parts of the mouth of the trout. The disadvantage, 
however, of striking from the reel is that the line is nearly 
always lengthened, and at a moment when it should, if 



34 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

possible, be shortened. The trout rises at the fly ; the 
strike is made from the reel, and the impetus and pull thus 
given to the reel are sufficient to unwind from one to three 
feet, if not more, of the line. iAiS the trout very frequently 
comes down-stream towards the angler the moment he feels 
the hook, the amount of line thus drawn off the reel is an' 
additional tax on the capability of the fisherman to reel up 
the slack line sufficiently fast to keep a strain on his fish. 

The breaking tension of a line must be estimated solely 
by the strength of its weakest part, and the weakest portion 
of a fisherman's line is, or should be, the fine end pomt of 
his cast. Now, although this gut point may be strong 
enough to check the rush of the fish, and although the reel, 
once its inertia is overcome, will not in itself present sufficient 
resistance to cause a break when striking, yet it must be 
remembered that, not only has the inertia of the drum of 
the reel to be overcome, but that the pawl, by which the 
ratchet wheel of the drum is controlled, presents a far 
greater resistance to the rotatory action of the drum as the 
latter starts to revolve, than it does when once the reel is 
revolving. The quicker the rotatory action of the drum 
the less is the resistance offered by the pawl to its revolu- 
tions. As a consequence when a fisherman strikes at a 
rising fish from the reel, he invariably brings at that moment 
a greater strain on the line than that which occurs while 
playing his fish, the result frequently being that the gut 
breaks and the fly is left in the mouth of the trout. This 
parting of the gut, which in a level fight with the trout, 
appears capable of resisting a far greater strain than the 
effort used in striking, is regarded as inexplicable by many 
fishermen, and it is almost better therefore, when using the 
modern reel, not to strike from the reel, but to hold the 
line lightly between the finger and thumb of the left 
hand. 



A DAY'S COACHING 35 

In order to prevent such accidents, to overcome the 
inertia and to prevent the initial dead check of the pawl 
when striking from the reel, I am applying for the patent 
rights of a new make of dry fly reel, in which the resistance 
offered by inertia is minimized, and an entirely new method 
adopted of regulating the rotation of the drum. This 
mechanism acts automatically, but can be so regulated that 
the tension of the gut when striking from the reel cannot 
reach the breaking point, while in no degree delaying the 
effect of the strike.* 

Keep Your Eye on the Fly 

You must give your absolute and undivided attention to 
your floating fly. Every angler knows how many chances 
of striking a good fish have been lost by a momentary lapse 
from this vigil. The one rise of a heavy fish at your fly 
may be missed and the fly rejected during the momentary 
glance aside at the opalescent gleam of a kingfisher, the 
metallic brilliance of a dragon-fly, a cluster of wild roses, 
or at any of the thousand delights of the trout stream. It 
is, however, only when your fly is on the water that this 
vigilance is imperative, and the fisherman has practically 
every other moment of the long and delicious summer day 
in which to enjoy the loveliness of his surroundings. No 
patience is required in observing this pleasing vigilance. 
The fascinating expectation of an answering rise to your 
scientific and delicate cast will be as strong and inspiring 
during the final cast of your day's fishing as it was during the 
first cast. It is this absorbing pleasure of looking for and 
anticipating immediate action during the whole length of 
an innings lasting practically from morning till night which 
constitutes one of the principal charms of dry fly fishing, and 

* I deal further with other faults in the present construction of reels when 
discussing the spinning reel in the final chapter of this book. 



36 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

places it so far above wet fly fishing down-stream, or, in 
my opinion, any other sport. 

The difference between the two methods, fishing up and 
fishing down, may be compared to the intellectual pleasure 
and anticipation of the sportsman during every moment of 
a long and arduous day in September when shooting over 
well-trained pointers or setters, and the jaded indifference 
of the gunner who strides along, with his principal sense, 
sight — after the first few hours — used solely to keep him in 
line and out of ditches, etc., and who is suddenly aroused 
and jerked back to the realities of life by the nerve-jarring 
rush of the birds he has chanced to kick up. 

A Fighting Fish 

Now watch me carefully once more. The fish you put 
down are again rising, and I am going to try for the big 
fellow right under the bank. He has shifted in quite close, 
so I shall hit that grass above him with my fly, and let it fall 
into the water and float down quite close to the edge. See, 
I have done so, and there it comes, now sailing outward 
with a little sweep, and now sidling quite close in to the bank 
and almost stationary. There ! what did I tell you ? I 
have him, and this time I am into a good fish. You noticed 
how I dropped the point of my rod when he jumped ? There 
he goes again. What a fighter ! Now he is going for those 
weeds down-stream. Observe the tug as I check him. 
He has the stream to help him, but I must hold him up, 
for if he gets into the weeds we shall lose him for a certainty. 
I have beaten him, I think. No, not I. Look how he clears 
the water and goes again to the bank. He's all right 
there, for you can see that the bottom is gravel and there 
are no weeds or snags. Now to get in a little line. Steady 
does it. No, he is off again down to the weeds. How the 
reel screams ! and the rod — look at it — bent nearly double. 



A DAY'S COACHING 37 

I have still all my work to do to keep him from those weeds. 
Ah ! he is beaten at last, and now I can get some of the 
line in on the reel as I follow him down-stream. A little 
more — that's it ; now take this landing-net, crouch down, 
as much out of sight as you can, and hold the net slanting 
well in the water, between the trout and myself. I shall 
draw him over and into it, and when I say " Lift," do so 
with both hands. " Lift ! " Well done ! Now bring him 
up the bank, and let's have a look at him. What a beauty ! 
Are not these crimson spots lovely ? I smite him well back 
on the head with my priest again. Notice how well this Blue 
Quill had him. We will weigh him ; and see, he is just over 
one-and-a-half pounds, and in good condition. We will 
put him with the others, but first add a few more leaves of 
thyme as a fitting tribute to his prowess, and while we fill 
our pipes I will give you a hint as to your best action when 
dealing with a jumping fish. Before doing so I will just 
drift the Blue Quill in the water to wash off the slime, and 
then press it with my handkerchief and let it dry. 

A Jumping Fish 

The reason I twice lowered the point of my rod when the 
fish jumped was in order to slacken the line. 

You will often see a good fighting trout throw himself 
out of the water in his efforts to escape. Frequently this 
is a deliberate attempt to break the line by a blow of his 
tail. The general practice is to drop the point of the 
rod instantly, but I consider that this is not always the 
soundest policy. The action of the rod must be influenced 
by the direction in which a fish is moving when he breaks 
water. If the fish springs straight up in the air, or in any 
direction away from you, then lower your rod immediately. 
If, however, as sometimes happens (it has to me on several 
occasions), the fish is heading more or less toward you at 



38 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

the time he leaves the water, you should continue to keep 
the line fairly taut, as this slight strain will keep the head 
of the fish towards you and prevent his tail coming forward 
and striking against your line ; it will also prevent the 
fly loosening in his mouth. If ever a delicate hold on the 
rod be required, it is at this moment. 

In Plate III,, a taut line will keep his head toward you, the 
hook fast in his mouth, and the line clear of his tail. 

In Plate IV., by slackening the line at once, the fish 
will get no purchase if his tail does strike the line, while 
the weight of the line will keep the hook embedded in his 
mouth as the fish moves away from you. 

In both cases just now, as you could see, the trout was 
heading away from me and up-stream, so I promptly 
lowered my rod and kept my line clear of his tail. The 
lowering of the point of the rod when the fish is heading 
as in Plate III., may be just as dangerous as not lowering 
the point when the fish is in such a position as Plate IV., 
and for the following reason : Lowering the rod slackens 
the line and releases the strain on the hook — a most risky 
proceeding, for if the fish happens to be lightly hooked 
on some bony portion of the mouth, the toothed tongue of 
the trout, which is constantly endeavouring to shift the 
fly when in its mouth, will at once get the opportunity it 
requires, and the fly will be rubbed or torn away from its 
hold. This latter position, however, is the more common 
one, and always lowering the rod is better than always 
keeping it up. The best advice I can give is always to lower 
the point when there is a probability of the fish striking the 
line with his tail ; but it must be evident that if the trout, 
as in Plate III., is likely to throw a somersault so as to 
bring its tail down between its head and the fisherman, 
this somersault will be all the more easily executed if the 
line is slackened. 



PLATE III. 



A JUMPING P^ISH. 




Don't Lower the Poixtof Rod, but keep a very Delicate pull on the Fish. 

Copyright.] 



PLATE IV. 



A JUMPING FISH. 




Drop Point ok Rod. 



Copyright.] 



A DAY'S COACHING 39 

By this time the fly is dry, and we will just touch it with 
a little oil. We must go up-stream a bit, as our big fight 
has put down the fish here for a time. There, you saw the 
rise. A feeding fish just ahead and close to our own bank ! 
Get well down to the water and use a shorter line, and you 
should get him. That's low enough. Remember the grass 
and bushes behind you ; make certain to throw your fly 
well above the fish, and don't lift your fly too soon in your 
next cast ; let it float well down behind the fish before you 
make your back cast. Yes, that's right ; you threw your 
fly well. With regard to getting your line in, you should 
either gather in your line with your left hand as it comes 
back to you on the water or else reel it in, keeping the 
point of the rod down the whole time. It really means 
this — that if you are casting to a special rising fish it is not 
necessary to let your fly come down more than six or 
eight feet below the spot at which it rises, and consequently 
you can take up all the line that is required in one outward 
movement of the left hand, then make your cast over again 
at the same fish. 

When you are fishing the stream use only a moderate 
length of line ; keep well out of sight of any fish which may 
be lying within the radius of your cast, and do not try for a 
fish at a distance before searching the intermediate water. 
Let your fly float down stream for about ten feet for each 
cast, for this will not necessitate your reeling up. Should 
you, however, decide to make longer casts, and let your 
line float on the water for a longer time, reel up your line 
at first, and then gather in with the left hand as before, 
ere you make your fresh cast. 

Now cast again to the same fish ; don't take your eye off 
the fly, keep your rod point down, and gather in as the 
fly comes back towards you. Now the fly has passed the 
spot where the trout rose, and as the latter may follow the 



40 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

fly down-stream, keep it on the water. Don't take your 
eye off the fly. Strike ! You have him ! Reel up and 
bring him down, and keep him well away from the bank 
at your feet ; don't let him come in under you if you can 
help it. He's a small fish, but plucky. Well done ! Here's 
the landing-net ; you must net him yourself. No, your 
line is too long to do so yet ; reel up a little more line first 
— not too much, or you will be unable to bring your rod 
backward over your shoulder.* Now bring your rod and 
arm vertically backward over your shoulder and draw the 
fish toward the net ; lift your net and you have him. Well 
done again : but, you see, as he is only just over the limit, 
and as it is always better to err on the right than on the 
wrong side, I think we will put him back, and he will have 
a chance to grow into a bigger fish. 

Undersized Fish 

When a rule as to the size and weight of a creelable fish 
is enjoined on any water, I think most fishermen consider 
it better to return to the water any fish the size or weight 
of which questionably approaches this limit. 

The keeping of undersized fish when they have been 
injured is, and must continue to remain, a very delicate 
problem. Whatever may be the rules governing any water, 
a trout foul hooked in the eye for instance, should not 
in my opinion be returned to the water. 

Handling a Trout 

If proper care be used while extracting the hook from the 
mouth of undersized trout, no injury should be inflicted 
from which the fish will not speedily recover if returned at 
once to the water. The injury done to fish by the handling 
they undergo before they are returned to the water, 

* See page 27, re netting. 



A DAY'S COACHING 41 

especially in those waters where trout are plentiful, and 
where the fisherman is certain to have to return a good 
number, may be minimized if a white cotton glove be worn 
on the left hand, and if before the fish is handled this glove 
is wetted — holding the hand under the net when it is with- 
drawn from the water is the most convenient method. 
By adopting this precaution the skin temperature of the 
hand is immediately lowered, and the — in my opinion — 
disastrous effects of scalding the mucus off the trout, 
mentioned on page 125 of this book, are avoided. 

When fishing, if it be seen that the size of a fish hooked is 
below that which the fisherman wishes to retain, it is a 
good plan to relax the pull of the rod and line altogether, 
and in four cases out of five it will be found that the fish 
will be able to quickly free itself from the hook. The 
advantages of such a method are — first, that one avoids 
handling and hurting this delicate fish, — secondly, it is a 
cleaner and better method of getting rid of an undersized 
trout — and in the third place, the fly is less likely to be 
damaged than when it is liberated by the hand. 

The above advice emphasizes the danger of relaxing the 
line when the escape of the trout is not desired. A taut 
line should be the object aimed at by all fishermen after the 
strike is made. 

Takable Trout 

Stream trout, in my opinion, should not be killed under 
the age of three years. 

The increase in the weight and length of trout varies 
considerably, a four-year-old trout on the upper waters of 
the Dart being no larger than a small-sized two-year-old 
fish on the Itchen. The principal advantages or dis- 
advantages of each season on the average growth of each 
year's stock of trout should be considered, and the limit 



42 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

imposed on any water should vary in accordance with the 
condition of its three-year-old fish. The limit should not, 
I think, be as regards weight or size, but rather as regards the 
age of the fish, either a three- year-old or a four-year-old fish 
being creelable, as the case may be. Thus, if the three-year- 
old fish of a certain year ran from f lb. to well over 1 lb. — the 
limit should be f lb., the limit to be determined by the 
length. It should not be necessary to weigh such fish. 

When a weight limit is enforced, however, a small muslin 
bag should be carried, into which, after it has been wetted, 
the trout can be dropped, and then weighed on a pocket 
spring balance, but even this method causes prejudicial 
handling and a longer detention from the water. If then, 
the owners of the water, or the Committee of the Fishing 
Club, would give a few minutes' consideration to the probable 
length attained by their three-year-old fish each year, and 
select a size covering the greater number of such three-year- 
old fish, they would, while preventing the two-year-old fish 
from being killed, give themselves, or their friends, or 
members, better sport — prevent the appearance of so many 
discoloured fish, and thin out the fish of three years' growth 
whose presence is least desired, i.e., those fish whose growth 
shows them to be of weaker character than the rest of their 
own year's hatch. 

Some time ago, when designing the first " Fred. G. 
Shaw" rod — I instructed Messrs. Hardy Bros, to make the 
lower whippings of the butt-joint exactly one inch apart, 
and to number them from one upward to fifteen. If then 
the limit be one of size, the fish — directly it is lifted from 
the water — can be held up by the wetted, gloved hand, to 
the marking on the rod, and if found to be short of the limit 
can be returned to the water without delay. 

Unless great care in the handling of a | lb. trout be 
observed, it is far better, I consider, that it should be creeled 



A DAY'S COACHING 43 

than that it should be returned, for the injury to such a fish 
which follows scalding from injudicious handling, tends to 
create a black or discoloured fish, and predisposes the trout 
to the attacks of fungus, see page 124. 

Let me impress upon the novice that he should have 
due consideration for the rights of the owners, his fellow- 
fishermen, the trout, and the stream. Give them all a 
chance. Never take undersized trout ; never make a 
boast about big takes of trout. Never be discouraged. If 
the fish are small, put on the finest tackle. Every day on 
which you fish you will most certainly add to your knowledge 
and skill. Although the fish may be untakable and your 
luck villainous, your fortune will turn. The apparently 
worst day may before it closes produce the biggest fish. 
You will find as your skill increases that the pleasure of 
netting a fish you have beaten is much greater than killing 
it and carrying it home. 

The Broken Hook 

Now try that rise on the other side. Keep well down 
and see that your fly is clean and dry before casting. 
Why, you have risen two fish and touched them both ! 
Allow me to look at that fly. Ah ! I thought so. Now feel 
the point of your hook, and you will find that it has become 
blunted, perhaps from having been carelessly broken out 
of the last fish, or maybe from catching it in that bough a 
minute ago. 

The fine splitting file on the disgorger in my knife now 
becomes useful. Two or three applications of the file to 
the point of the hook, and it has as fine a needle point as 
ever. It does not take more than five seconds to sharpen 
the point of a hook. It renews the usefulness of the fly, 
and saves time ; therefore, always carry a file, as it may 
be that later in the day the hook of your last taking 



44 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

fly has become blunted, and if you have no file you will 
most likely lose your fish and spoil the rest of your day's 
sport. 

Now fish up that run, beginning where you saw the rise 
in the pool below it. Cast your fly just where the rush of 
the stream begins to lessen, and let it float well down. 
Strike. Well done ! Bring the fish down into the pool, 
so as not to frighten the others in the stream above. Keep 
him out of that dark deep bend, where the blackberry- 
bushes dip into the stream. That's right : don't touch 
your net until you have beaten him. Shorten your line a 
bit more, and now use your net ; stoop down as much as you 
can, so as to keep out of sight, not only of the fish on your 
line, but of others which may have followed him down. 
Well done ! Give me the fish and dry your fly again, and 
try the run right up from where you caught your last. 
Never mind looking for a rise : there are sure to be fish 
there. Well done again ! and a good one, but you struck 
with your arm and shoulder, and have broken your cast. 
Now quickly : we must not lose time while the fish are 
taking so freely. Let me see your cast. Yes, you have 
broken off the lower point, so I place about two inches of 
the end of the cast in my mouth to soften. You see this 
cast-box ; it has some slightly moist white flannel in one 
compartment, in which have been lying a spare cast, and 
some fine points. I take out a point, look at it with my 
watchmaker's glass in my eye. Yes, it is all right — smooth 
and free from glints. So I pass it through my lips, close the 
box again, and, taking the point I have selected, make an 
overhand knot in the extreme end. I take the broken 
end out of my mouth, run it through the overhand knot, 
and make another knot of the same kind in the end of it, 
only enclosing the gut point in this knot* I draw both 

* See Diagram 7, p. 121. 



A DAY'S COACHING 45 

overhand knots firmly but completely taut. Each knot 
now encloses the gut which has formed the other knot. I 
draw the two knots firmly together by pulling the cast and 
the point, and, taking out my knife, I open the scissors and 
snip off each end fairly close. Place this quite new Blue 
Quill, which I have taken out of my fly-box, on the end of 
the point, and oil it carefully. 

The Fly-Retriever 

Now continue to fish the run right up beyond the 
ripple at its head. Stop ! You have caught your fly in 
these overhanging branches. Do not attempt to jerk or 
forcibly pull it clear. Drag it very gently and steadily 
toward you. In most cases a fly will come clear by a very 
gentle pull, but if it catches while thus pulling it, it may be 
only in a leaf, therefore point your rod directly towards it 
and increase the strength of the pull. If it still refuses to 
budge, and you can reach the twig with the point of the rod, 
if you have no fly-retriever with you, reel right up until the 
point of the rod touches the fly, and then gently twist the 
rod round to the right or left. This very frequently liberates 
the fly, but force must not be used. If you cannot reach the 
fly, pull on the line, still pointing the rod towards the fly, 
until the fly either tears itself away or the weakest portion 
of your gut parts. You may probably lose your fly, but you 
have no alternative. It is inadvisable to climb a tree in 
waders. They suffer at times, and a particularly cold and 
unpleasant reminder of this fact will follow your re-entering 
the water. 

I have however in my creel a most excellent fly-retriever 
designed by one of my clients, the protection for which I 
have obtained. I place this on the end of my rod, and fix 
it above the twig on which the fly has caught. A slight 
pull on the line attached to this fly-retriever and your 



46 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

fly comes fluttering down on the twig on which it was 
held.* 

A Big Fish. 

Start again at the bottom of the run. Ah, I thought 
so ! You are into a big one this time. Reel up ! reel up ! 
Walk back, man ! Keep your point up and line taut, 
or you will lose him. Keep him out of the dark corner 
" an you love me." Steady ! drop your point if he leaves 
the water as he goes up-stream again. There ! you have 
him at last, after a splendid fight. Why, you have beaten 
my fish. Let us see ! One pound nine ounces, and in every 
respect a beauty. If you take my advice you will send 
him up to London by this night's train to your taxidermist. 
Your first big fish is always remembered with the greatest 
pleasure, and, if set up, is a trophy of which you will always 
be proud. 



* For further particulars of this fly-retriever, see the final chapter of this book. 



CHAPTER III 
A DAY'S FISHING (continued). 

The Luncheon Hour — A consideration of the effectiveness of the dry 
fly — Rising water and its effect on trout — Method of manipulating 
the hne — Hand-Uning — ^Water weeds and Trout — The left hand and 
the reel — Something to remember — The selection of the fly. 

As the rise has now stopped and the sun is very hot, we 
may as well take our luncheon in the grateful shade of this 
willow, and resume our chat as regards dry fly fishing. 

After fishing experiences embracing nearly every portion 
of both hemispheres, I am confident that at certain times 
and seasons the dry fly can be used with success on any 
water which harbours a fish whose food partly consists of 
any of the forms of the water insect which attains, as one 
stage of its existence, a flying state, and hence the importance 
of learning how to use a dry fly. Even amid the brawling 
cascades of a Norwegian foss there will be found places where 
the dry fly is deadly. I remember on one such stream, 
which tumbles some 1,000 feet down the side of the precipices 
enclosing Vadheim, taking over twenty good trout with a 
single dry fly, as I clambered up from pool to pool to reach 
the lake from which the stream issues. I have used the 
dry fly for perch in Australia ; for the " yellow fish " (the 
Mahseer) of South Africa ; for trout in the Scottish lakes 
and their brawling tributaries ; on the Swedish lakes and 
rivers ; in Germany on the lovely Wutach ; in the Black 
Forest and in the Austrian Tyrol ; in the chalk streams of 
Normandy ; on Lake Superior, amid the Rockies, in 

47 



48 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Vancouver Island, etc., and my experience tells me that 
in all trout streams wherever water insects assume a flying 
condition the dry fly can, at certain times and in certain 
places, be used with the greatest success. I don't believe 
that any trout stream can be regarded solely as a wet fly 
stream. 

As an instance of this, I remember that, during a summer 
now long past, several well-known wet fly fishermen, stopping 
at an hotel in Wales, had for some weeks given up all 
attempts to catch trout, and, happening to arrive at the 
time, I converted every fisherman there to the usefulness 
of the dry fly method by killing fourteen fine fish on my first 
afternoon, and seventeen as good fish the following day. 

On the lovely little Sid, in Devonshire, just as on the 
waters of the Deveron, on the Otter as on the waters of the 
Welsh Wye, on the Lambourne as on the waters of the 
Coquet, or the Eden, or the Derbyshire Wye, the dry fly 
will be as effective in June, July, and August as is the wet 
fly in March and April. It is on the correct choice of either 
method that the greatest success depends. When the trout 
are being taken freely by the dry fly method, the wet fly 
fishermen would be well advised to adopt that method, and 
vice versa. For dead or perfectly smooth water, especially 
later in the year, the dry fly method of fishing is without 
doubt the better. 

But if sport is wanted, and opportunities of fishing are 
few, it would be a mistake for the dry fly man to reel up his 
line when a temporary thickness of the water shuts out his 
fly from the ken of the fish, and so prevents his fishing with 
a dry fly. If the rain has been a warm one the trout are 
sure to be feeding toward the bottom of the stream, and 
probably on drifting matter, such as the drowned sub-imago, 
etc. It is much wiser, therefore, for the angler to put on a 
wet fly cast, and, sinking his flies well below the surface. 



PLATE V. 




My Dog and My Fish. 

A morning's catch on the test. 



A DAY'S FISHING 49 

to fish his way down-stream ; he is very likely to pick up 
some good fish, instead of losing half, or perhaps more, of 
his precious day's fishing. 

Rising Water and Non-Rising Fish 

Both with salmon and trout fishing it is well to remember 
that fish will cease to rise at a fly or to take the lure when 
the water is rising to any appreciable extent. This fact 
will be particularly noticeable when dry fly fishing for 
trout, and the first intimation that the fisherman receives 
as to the rise in the river will be that the fish themselves 
cease to rise. I have noticed at times that for the first few 
minutes of a rise in the water of a stream the fish seem to 
be more lively, but as the water continues to increase in 
volume they will invariably cease rising. I have frequently, 
however, evaded the misfortune of a temporary rise of 
water on one stream by motoring down stream, or to some 
other water not thus affected. Fishing not long since on 
the Touche in France, which runs into the sea at Trouville, 
I noticed about three o'clock that the fish suddenly ceased 
to rise. I then looked carefully at the water, and saw 
that it was rising owing to a thunderstorm which had taken 
place up the valley in which I was fishing. My host having 
his motor car at hand, on my recommendation we ceased 
fishing and motored down some forty miles nearer to 
Trouville, where we continued to fish until dinner time with 
great success, the rise in the water not having by that time 
reached us. 

Some rivers in the Northern Island of New Zealand 
run through argillaceous or calcareous country, and when 
rain occurs these rivers become discoloured, and fishing is 
rendered impracticable. It is quite possible to continue 
fishing by going a few miles away to rivers whose course 
runs through a different geological formation. 



50 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

One of the characteristic signs of fish ceasing to rise or 
coming on the rise under normal conditions, is that one or 
two will throw themselves out of the water. I have never 
solved the question as to why they do this, but when the 
fish have not been rising and I suddenly see a medium sized 
fish throw itself out of the water, I expect, and nearly always^ 
find, that a rise is about to commence. On the contrary, 
if, during a good rise, one or two fish are seen to throw 
themselves out of the water, it is nearly certain that the 
rise will soon cease. 

Manipulating and Shooting the Line 

As you have already experienced difficulty in managing 
your slack line, and in manipulating your rod and line after 
the fish is hooked, I will utilize our luncheon hour by giving 
you a few hints on this subject. 

There are at least three sound and convenient methods of 
gathering in the slack line as it comes back towards the 
fisherman when fishing out a dry fly cast up-stream. 

When the fly is only allowed to travel some eight or nine 
feet down-stream after it has alighted on the water, the rod 
should not be raised, but as the current brings the line back, 
and as the line is beginning to hang almost vertically from 
the rod point to the water, the left hand thumb or fore- 
finger should gather in this slack line by an outward move- 
ment from the rod, the line being allowed to slip smoothly 
round the thumb or forefinger until the left arm is extended 
outward from the side. Should the back cast then require 
to be made the line should be nipped between the finger and 
thumb and held firmly, and the back and forward cast 
should then be made, but as the rod straightens at the end 
of the forward and downward action, the finger and thumb 
must release the line, which will then, if the cast be perfectly 
made, be pulled out through the rings by the forward 



A DAY'S FISHING 61 

impetus of the line. This forward extension of the gathered 
in slack line is known as " shooting." It is evident that 
should a fish rise at the fly while the line is being thus taken 
in, the finger and thumb would nip the line as the strike 
is made. The rod having been held low and the slack line 
taken in by the hand, the tension will come on the hook 
before the rod is more than seventy degrees above the 
horizon, and if the fish is struck this backward action of the 
rod is continued and absorbs the slack line, as it is then 
released by the finger and thumb of the left hand, which 
latter hand, seeking the reel, commences to reel in the line 
as the fish comes down-stream. 

If the strike be properly made and misses the fish, the 
line will extend itself backward as in the back cast, and should 
be brought forward again as in the forward cast, and the 
slack line — which has been held by the finger and thumb — 
is released and allowed to shoot. 

The second method, when the fly has to float from ten to 
twenty or more feet down-stream, is also to keep the rod 
point down, but to take up the slack line between the rod 
point and the water by using the reel . It must be evident that 
the slack can thus be absorbed by the reel until the fly has 
only a few feet more to float down-stream, when the first 
method as above described can be adopted. 

The third manner, used when fishing out a short cast with 
a short length of line, is to raise the rod point as the line 
comes back, and when the back cast has to be made, the 
rod point is first lowered and the line is gathered in by the 
hand and the backward and forward cast is then made, the 
finger and thumb releasing the line at the end of the down- 
ward action as usual, etc. 

Gathering in the line with the hand, and at the same time 
raising the rod point, is a common fault. As the line and 
the fly on the water must not be disturbed, it must be 



52 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

evident that when the finger and thumb have drawn in as 
much line as they conveniently can, and when the rod has 
been also raised to an angle of fifty or sixty degrees, that there 
must be much slack line still between the rod point and the 
fly, and therefore if at this juncture a fish rises at the fly 
and the strike is made, the hand holding the rod will have 
to be raised and to travel some way behind the head of the 
fisherman before the line is sufficiently tight to drive the 
hook into the mouth of the fish. This action brings the 
rod into a position from which it is practically speaking 
almost impossible to wind up the slack line — which has 
been gathered in and which is still held in the left hand — 
and to keep at the same time that constant and permanent 
strain on the fish which is so necessary, and the fisherman is 
obliged, therefore, when this happens, in order to keep the 
strain of his rod on the fish, to run backward and handline 
his fish. Even if the fisherman be capable of striking the 
fish as it rises, the position of the rod will prevent his playing 
his fish from the reel and he will have to handline. 

The first way is the best way. 

By fastening the end of the line to a croquet hoop or any- 
thing else on the lawn, these three methods can be practised 
by the reader, and he should gather in the line in the different 
ways I have described above, taking care not to disturb the 
line lying on the grass between the rod point and the 
hoop until the strike be made, etc. 

After he has fixed his line to a croquet hoop, he should stand 
at a distance of eighteen yards from the hoop, his rod held 
horizontally about three feet from the ground, and having 
his line extended on the grass. If then he walks towards 
the hoop, the line will become slack under the point of his 
rod in exactly the same manner as if it were being brought 
down-stream towards him after having made his cast up- 
stream. If instead of fastening the line to a croquet hoop, 



A DAY'S FISHING 53 

a friend will hold it in his hand and as the strike is 
made walk rapidly towards the striker, the relative value of 
the above methods will become even more pronounced. 

Should the three methods I have suggested thus be 
practised, it will be found that the first is the best and 
safest. No contretemps can possibly happen. 

In the second method the disadvantage is that, if the same 
distance in the coming cast has to be reached as in the 
latest cast, some false casts have to be made, during which 
the line has to be pulled off the reel again before the full 
length required for the final cast is obtained. 

In the third method, which is simply raising the rod when 
picking up the slack line, should the rod approach the 
vertical before the fish rises, it will, at the conclusion of the 
strike, be pointing backward over the shoulder, instead 
of pointing upward and forward, and the control of the line 
by the reel may become impossible and handlining will have 
to be adopted. 

In your latest effort at the trout I directed you to raise 
the point of your rod because we were aiming at a definite 
fish, and your fly had not to travel for any distance before it 
had floated below your fish and another cast was advisable, 
but where you are fishing the stream, that is not casting to 
a rising fish, it is always best to let your fly come well back 
down-stream towards you, in order perchance to cover a 
possible fish which you may not have seen rise. This means, 
however, taking in a great deal of slack either with your finger 
and thumb, or on your reel, and of the two the latter is, I 
think, the better way. 

Handlining 

" Handlining " — a method of gathering in the line with 
the hands instead of by the reel — should not be adopted 
except in cases of unavoidable difficulty, otherwise a slovenly 



64 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

habit of using the rod and reel will ensue. If the method of 
handlining is adopted after striking a fish, it has to be 
continued, and the slack line thus recovered will prove a 
constant source of danger should it be necessary to follow 
the trout down-stream and keep him under control. In 
this respect I venture to disagree with one of our best known 
authorities, who advises his readers to slacken the line after 
striking a trout among weeds, and then to handline. 

Naturally one would not drag a fish into danger 
except as a means of keeping it away from a greater danger, 
but a trout, after being hooked amid the weeds, will in 
nine out of ten cases dart into the shelter of the weeds 
surrounding him, and I see little good in relying on the chance 
of his not doing so. It is only by keeping a constant tension 
on the line that the fly is in many instances kept in the 
mouth of the trout. For the slightest slackness of the line 
frequently permits the trout to use its tongue as a hook 
extractor and dislodge the fly, and therefore I think that 
neither slacking your line nor handlining is advisable 
when once you are fortunate in making a successful strike 
at a trout. 

The writer above quoted advises his readers to turn the 
fish and walk it down-stream directly it is struck when 
amid weeds. He claims that this method, if successful, 
possesses the advantage of keeping the battle from the 
hitherto undisturbed waters above; but a trout, except it 
sees the fisherman, or it happens to be feeding at the tail 
end of a pool, generally runs down stream unless it darts 
into the weeds, etc. He might also claim that this method 
of handling a fish takes it away from its retreats and into 
regions of comparatively speaking unknown security, but 
it has the demerit of leading the fish downward into weeds 
— the most dangerous of all manners in which a trout can 
enter them. It also has the demerit that, unless the trout 



A DAY'S FISHING 55 

happens to see the fisherman and thus be scared into 
the weeds on its far side, he cannot keep the trout out of the 
weeds which lie between it and himself, which position, 
if taken up by the trout, is most dangerous. 

It is better, however, to t^y handlining than to run the 
risk of losing your fish, and this method has the same 
a'dvantage as the silent reel, in that the jarring vibrations 
of the check are absent at a critical moment. 

It must be remembered that trout which take advantage 
of the shelter which is offered by weeds, are better fed and 
consequently stronger and larger. They are also more 
approachable, but though this may be to the advantage 
of the fisherman, yet it is more than counterbalanced 
by the difficulty of casting to and playing a trout when 
hooked in a channel amid the weeds. If a trout be rising 
in one of the narrow channels formed by the stream amid 
the weeds, the prick and check of the strike will invariably 
send it into its refuge among them, and, unless this 
channel be directly above and running towards the fisherman, 
there must not be the slightest hesitation on his part, 
drastic measures must be adopted directly his strike is 
successful. The head of the trout must therefore be kept 
well up, and, if possible, brought above the weeds by a firm 
and maintained strain on the line ; once the head of the 
trout can be raised so that it lies on the weeds the struggles 
of the fish will only serve to bring it over the top of them 
and toward the net. When handling a big fish in this 
manner it will make a very great fight, but unless such 
tactics are adopted it would most certainly be lost with 
probably a portion of the fisherman's cast. 

I have known many fishermen afraid to cast to a fish, 
assuming that they may be unable to land it, even if they 
are successful in hooking it. I think however, that this is 
one of the sporting risks which should always be taken. 



56 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

It certainly affords me great pleasure when I have captured 
a fish that has been lying in what I consider to be an almost 
impossible position. 

There are times when a big trout does lose its head, 
fails to seek the security of its home amid the weeds, and 
allows itself to be led gently down stream to a place clear of 
weeds, as suggested by Mr. Halford. I only remember 
having seen such an occurrence once, and I do not con- 
sider it advisable to take the chances of its happening 
again. 

If a big trout be hooked when directly up-stream in such 
a narrow channel, it should, if possible, be turned down- 
stream and kept coming down-stream towards the fisher- 
man until clear of the weeds, etc. ; but this, again, means 
drastic and immediate measures before the fish can recover 
from the surprise of the strike, and great care must be 
taken, when bringing it down, to keep as much as possible 
out of sight. 

The Left Hand and the Reel 

Now I see some signs of the fish beginning to move 
again, but before we start I think I will give you a few 
hints as to fixing the reel on the rod. 

The traditions handed down from the earliest records of 
fly fishing, associated as they were with the then only known 
method, namely, wet fly fishing down-stream, are responsible 
for the belief which exists in the minds of fishermen of 
to-day that the handle of the reel must be on the right hand 
side of the rod, and they have grown to believe that they 
cannot use their reel unless so fixed, and to think that they 
cannot use the left hand for winding. They have there- 
fore been in the habit of using the right hand for winding 
in the line, having of course to change their grasp on the 
rod when using the right hand for casting with the single- 



A DAY'S FISHING 57 

handed rod, and also when the right hand is uppermost 
when casting with the double-handed rod. 

The following episode will illustrate the difficulty I some- 
times experience in getting my clients to even consider the 
advantages of using the left hand for winding purposes, 
and of altering the position of the reel on the rod. I was 
about to coach a military client, whom I will call Colonel 
O'Brien, in the Spey cast, on my St. John's Wood ground, 
and as he wanted my advice on his salmon rod he had 
brought it with him. As I was fixing up a cast and 
fly, he put his rod together with the reel handles facing to 
the right — this I noticed after I had fixed the cast and fly 
to his line — and the following dialogue occurred : — 

" Colonel," said I, " do you always fix your reel with the 
handle on the right hand side ? " 

" Sure," said he, " I do." 

" And do you prefer to have your right hand uppermost 
when you are using the salmon rod ? " 

" I do," said he. 

" Then, Colonel, why don't you have the handle of your 
reel pointing to the left hand side, so that you can reel up 
with the left hand, without altering your hold on the rod ? " 
I enquired. 

" Sure," said he, " I never use my left hand for anything." 

" What about eating peas, Colonel ? " 

"Faith! Are we talking about feeding or fishing?" 
he asked, raising his eyebrows. 

" Well ! " said I, " Supposing you are loch fishing, or 
fishing in slackish water, and the fish makes a terrible rush 
towards you and you have not time to shift your hands, 
what are you going to do ? " 

" Sure," said he, " If I am in a hurry I twist my rod 
round"; and, saying this, the Colonel illustrated it by 
twisting the rod round, continuing to hold it with the right 



58 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

hand uppermost, and bringing the reel over the rod with 
its handle pointing to the left hand side ; then seizing the 
handle of the reel in his left hand, he began to illustrate how 
he would wind up the line quickly in such an event. 

" Colonel! " I asked, " do you kill many fish like that ? " 
" Sure," said he, " I kill half of the fish in this way." 
" Well, Colonel ! which hand are you using now ? " 
" Begorrah ! " said he, after a moment's reflection, 
" I've been using my left hand all the time and I didn't 
know it." 

Admittedly it may be awkward in the first few attempts 
to wind the reel with the left hand, when the right hand only 
has been accustomed to the work, but then a similar awkward- 
ness is experienced whenever we vary an accustomed 
method of performing any action. Take for example our 
procedure in putting on any garment, say a coat — if we are 
accustomed to insert the right arm first into its sleeve, let 
us instead experiment by introducing the left arm first, 
and the awkwardness will be at once admitted, but this 
does not infer that the latter method of putting on the coat 
is more difficult or that it could not be easily acquired. 

A Wrinkle 

And now I will show you yet another way of taking a 
trout before I go home. You can see that not a fish is 
moving ; everything is baking hot. The sub-imago is 
sheltering amid the grass, and the pupa amid the weeds ; 
both dislike this bright and torrid glare, and while the 
former is getting ready for his joyous but very brief honey- 
moon existence, the latter is clinging to his wavy and 
shadowy retreat, and waiting for the impulse which is to 
send him, despite all dangers, jigging up towards the 
surface to loosen the wings which are fretting within his 
mask. 



A DAY'S FISHING 59 

Do you see that deep hole, right up-stream, where the 
water glides smoothly by that sun-smitten rock ? Well, I 
am certain that there is at least one trout in its shade, and, 
therefore, I am going to throw my fly on the rock, and then 
slowly pull it until it drops off into the deep water. Watch ! 
There, I made no splash with my line, and my fly has 
alighted just on the edge of the rock, and well in sight of 
any fish which may be lurking in the cool and delightful 
depths below. See, I pull it gently, it slides down the rock, 
tumbles into the water, and floats beautifully down-stream. 
A little ring spreads out, and dies away. The fly has gone ! 
It is a rise, and I have him. See how be bores down ; he 
has some retreat, possibly a hole at the base of the rock, but 
out he has to come, and, finally, after a stubborn fight, 
he, too, goes into my creel. Now take the rod, as I must 
be getting home. Shorten up the line. No, you are 
winding the line up too carelessly. Always wind a line 
firmly on the reel, or you will perhaps at a critical moment 
be in difficulties owing to the line over-running itself. 
That's better ! The next two or three hours' fishing will 
be poor ; therefore fish the rise if you see one, but also try 
all the places in which you think it is possible fish may be 
lying. Alter your fly if the rising fish neglect the one you 
are now using. 

Keep well out of sight, and go gently with my rod, and 
" Good luck and a taut line to you ! " 

The Selection of the Fly 

The most critical decision of a day's dry fly fishing is 
that which centres round the selection of the artificial fly. 
The varieties of the fly to which the fish will rise are many, 
and the times at which these flies may appear are uncertain 
and impossible to foresee. There will always be an un- 
certainty as to size, colouring, or variety of the fly which will 



60 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

be taken, and indeed which is being taken, at any moment 
by the fish ; there may also be a variation of much importance 
in the size, colour and appearance of the different hatches 
of the same family, and to be successful under ordinary 
circumstances the greatest care should be exercised in 
determining this point. 

Take the May fly as an instance and consider the very 
great variety in the size, colour and appearance of these 
ephemeridae. Each season, nay — each day, nay — each 
hour of each May fly season, will probably produce a varia- 
tion in its flying insect, which it would be well for the fisher- 
man to note. I had recently sent to me by Mr. Cummins of 
Bishop Auckland a sample box of May fly in which there 
were fifty-eight distinct patterns, and, varied as they were 
in colour and size, I did not see one which did not recall 
some specimen of May fly which I have seen and used in the 
different waters of the Northern Hemisphere. 

A May fly of some particular colouring and size may 
establish a premier position as a lure during any one season 
in any one district, and yet be almost useless the following 
year on the same water. It may be that these water 
insects are protean in their colouring, and that their changes 
of colouring are protective ; but of one thing the fisherman 
may be certain, that no attention can be too great to give 
to the exact size, colour, etc., of the fly or flies which are 
to be seen on the water he is fishing. No matter how 
killing a fly may be at any one minute, a sudden rise of the 
fish will occur at some other variety of fly during the next 
moment, and directly the fisherman recognizes that his fly 
is unnoticed by a rising fish, his rod should be discarded in 
favour of the fly net, and each floating or flying insect should 
be captured and carefully examined. Say that I have been 
fishing with an Olive Quill which has been killing well, and 
though the fish are still rising, my Olive Quill fails to attract 



A DAY'S FISHING 61 

their attention ; I press the spear of my rod into the turf, 
take my fly net out of my creel and get right down to the 
waterside. Now comes sailing down a dainty yacht-like 
ephemeridae — it floats into my net and is then examined. 
I find that it is one of a variety known as Blue Dun. Here 
comes another : it is an Olive. Here again is another ! — 
a Ginger Quill. And another ! a Ginger Quill again. This 
is good enough. My fly box is opened. My recently captured 
Ginger Quill is compared with the specimen in it, and a fly 
similar in size selected. My telescopic net is replaced in my 
creel, my Olive Quill taken off, the Ginger Quill substituted, 
and hey presto ! once again I am into a fish. It will be 
seen, therefore, not only how important it is to have some 
sort of fly net with which to capture these elusive and 
delicate flying insects, but also to depend on the informa- 
tion it enables you to obtain as to any hatch of flying 
insects — and thus to quickly select the right fly to fish with. 
The following chapter on these flying insects, their lives, 
metamorphoses, and appearance, will prove of interest 
and importance to the fisherman. 



CHAPTER IV 

Water Insects and the Rise 

Description of the Ephemeridse and other water insects — ^The 
Ephemeridae — The Tricoptera (the Caddis Fly) — The Perlidae 
(the Stone Fly) — The Sialidae (the Alder) — The Diptera — When 
and where to use these flies — Fly boxes and their use — Flies — ^The 
May Fly — On the patterns of Flies — The Fishing Gazette and Mr. 
Val Consons — Mr. R. T. Wickham and the late Mr. David Foster 
— An interesting theory — ^The rise — A theory for the rise — ^The 
best time to fish — ^The evening rise — Fly fishing at night — Fishing 
by moonlight. 

With the exception of a few fancy variations, the flies 
used by the trout fisherman are made to represent as 
nearly as possible the appearance of the winged stage of 
certain water insects which are known to the entomologist 
as : The Ephemeridse, the Trichoptera, the Perlidae, 
the Sialidae, and the Diptera, In order that the student 
may be able to tell to which of the above five families the 
flies he catches in his butterfly-net belong, it will be necessary 
to remember the following characteristic position of the 
wings of each family when the fly is alive and at rest. 

The Ephemerid^. — The wings rise upward from the 
shoulder in vertical planes above the body, generally 
touching each other as they rise from the body, and when 
floating down-stream these delicate insects can easily be 
recognized : their wings are like the sails of a fairy yacht 
afloat on some dreamland sea (see Plate VI., Figs. 2 and 4). 

The Trichoptera. — The wings run backward from the 
shoulder, and lie alongside the body, meeting, tent-shaped, 
at their upper edges, and gradually diverging in the 
posterior direction (see Plate VII., Fig. 4). 

62 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 63 

The Sialid^ (the Alder). — The wings of the members 
of this family are carried in a similar manner to those of the 
Trichoptera, but the family is a smaller one (see Plate VIII., 
Fig. 4). 

The Perlid^. — The wings are placed in a flat position, 
running backward from the shoulder in horizontal planes, 
and crossing or overlapping one another over the body 
(see Plate VIII., Fig. 2). 

The Diptera. — The wings generally, like the Perlidae, 
are placed in horizontal planes ; in most cases they do not 
overlap, but diverge from one another, as in the common 
housefly. 

There are over 200 different species of water beetle, the 
numerous family of the Notonectidae, besides the larvae of 
the above flies, etc., upon all of which trout exist ; and, 
therefore, the wet fly fisherman may well imitate other 
forms of sub-aqueous life. 

The Ephemerid^ 

The sub-aqueous existence of one of the Ephemeridae 
occupies the greater portion of its life. From the period at 
which it leaves its egg until it becomes a flying insect it is 
undergoing a gradual metamorphosis, and, like the Perlidae, 
at no time does it assume the real pupal condition — that is, 
the dormant chrysalis stage — common to the Trichoptera, 
Sialidae, and the Diptera. 

It should therefore, strictly speaking, only be alluded to 
as being in a larval condition until it becomes a sub-imago, 
but for distinction the latter period of its larval condition 
may be termed pupal. It is at about this latter period that 
it begins to be of most interest to the fly fisherman, and, 
with the kind assistance of Mr. Chas. O. Waterhouse, of 
the South Kensington Museum, I have been able in Plate VI., 
Figs. 1 and 3, to give two characteristic views of its 



64 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

appearance just before the sub-imago state. The beautiful 
illustrations of the larval, pupal and flying stages of the 
water insects on Plates VI., VII. and VIII. were drawn for 
me by Mr. Horace Knight, of the Natural History Museum. 
Fig 1, Plate VI., shows the pupal stage of the larva of the 
May-fly, Ephemera vulgata, twice its natural size. Fig. 3 
represents the pupal stage of the larva of Cloeon rufulum, a 
fly resembling the Red Quill. Fig. 2 shows the Ephemerata 
vulgata in its flying stage with the wings open. Fig. 4 
shows the Cloeon rufulum in its flying stage with its wings 
closed. The larval period of the different Ephemeridae 
lasts from one to two years. 

There are several varieties of the larvae, corresponding to 
the several kinds of Ephemeridae, and in each the appear- 
ance and the habits differ — some crawl, some burrow, and 
others, again, swim — but in all the varieties the larval 
appearance alters as they attain full size, and beneath the 
transparent integument covering their bodies can be 
discerned the gradual development of the wings, thorax, 
and legs, which will be used after the metamorphosis to the 
flying condition (see Plate VI., Figs. 1 and 3). 

When the larvae are fully ready for this change, they 
leave the haunts in which they have hitherto spent their 
existence, and swim to the surface. When there the mask- 
like membrane, under which the wings, etc., have been 
visible (see Figs. 1 and 3, Plate VI.), splits open, and, 
supported on this shell as on a raft, the insect gradually frees 
every part of its body and unfolds its wings. As soon as 
these wings are dried, and the body is clear of its shell, the 
sub-imago, as it is now called, flies to the nearest bank, 
where it shelters itself amid the grasses, leaves, etc. It is 
commonly known in this state as a dun, and it appears at 
various times, when the weather is favourable, in the 
vicinity of the water during a period of from one day to two 



PLATE VI. 





Fig. I. — Ephemera vulgata (May-fly), 
twice natural size, ready to assume its 
sub-imago or semi-final flying existence. 
Note the wing as seen under the pupal 
mask. 



Fig. 2. — Flying state of Ephemera vulgata. 





Fig. 4. — Ephemeridae Chi'oii rujulum 
Flying State. Magnified. 



Fig. 3 — Ephemera, Clol'on rufulum, twice natural 
size, ready to assume its sub-imago existence. 
Note the wings. 

The EPHEMERIDiE 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 65 

or more weeks, flying with the breeze, generally down- 
stream. In this stage of its life it can be easily recognised 
by its comparatively heavy, drifting flight, and its dull, 
semi-opaque appearance. By the aid of a watchmaker's 
glass, cilia will be seen covering the surface, and forming a 
fringe to the posterior margin of its wings. 

The sub-imago stage of its life, which is very brief in some 
cases, is finally forsaken when the entire membrane of its 
body and wings again splits open and is discarded, and the 
insect then assumes its perfected stage as the imago or 
spinner. 

It is now fully matured and enters into its bridal existence, 
which lasts but a few days. In this stage it is to be seen in 
great numbers when the heat is not excessive and during 
the evening hours. Its wings are now gauzy and its body 
lighter and more brilliant in colour. It is easily recognised 
as it soars, floats, and sinks in the ambient summer atmo- 
sphere. 

The following are the popular names by which some of the 
forms of the Ephemeridae are known : Olive Duns, Duns, 
Blue Duns, Autumn Duns, Blue- Winged Olives, Iron Blue 
Duns, Red-Quill Duns, Red Spinner, Jenny Spinner, May- 
fly, March Brown, Iron Blue, etc. 

The Trichoptera, or Caddis-fly 

These insects, unlike those of the Ephemeridae and 
Perlidae family, undergo a distinct metamorphosis during 
their sub-aqueous existence. 

The Trichoptera may be divided into two families. 
The larva of one, after leaving its egg, spins a cylindrical 
sheath round itself (see Plate VII., Fig. 2), which forms its 
future home, and to which it attaches small stones, sand, 
wood, etc. ; these cover and mask this case, and at the same 
time act as ballast. The case thus forms an armour-like 



66 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

protection against enemies. The larva uses this sheath 
as a movable residence, and from the open end its head, 
thorax, and legs protrude and provide the motive power, 
the weak and maggot-like body (see Plate VII., Fig. 1), being 
always enclosed and protected by the armour-clad case, 
which it drags about from place to place. After various 
enlargements to suit the growing conditions of its body, the 
larva enters and partially closes the open end of its case ; 
it then commences its pupal existence — i.e., it becomes a 
chrysalis, and finally, when the chrysalis stage is over, it 
tears open the sac covering which has protected it during the 
dormant existence. Swimming to the surface, it either 
supports itself against some floating object or makes its 
way to the bank. The skin then splits open and the insect 
enters the flying stage direct (see Plate VII., Fig. 4), the pupal 
kin being generally left in the water. 

The larva of the other family of the Caddis-fly forms 
its home by spinning a sac, like a bag, attaching it to 
some sheltered spot, and covering it with stones, etc. It 
leaves this home in search of food, and when the pupal stage 
approaches, it partially closes the aperture and undergoes 
a pupal phase similar to the one above described, before it 
assumes its imago existence. Some well-known forms of the 
Trichoptera are as follows : The Red Sedge, Silver Sedge, 
Orange Sedge, Grannom, the Welshman's Button, the 
Cinnamon-fly, the Sand-fly, etc. In Plate VII. will be 
seen two exquisite drawings of the larva and the pupa of 
the Caddis-fly, by Mr. Knight. 

Fig. 1 is the larval condition of the Phryganea, one of the 
Sedge family. 

Fig. 2 shows the larval case of this water insect. 

Fig. 3 is the pupal stage of the same water insect. 

Fig. 4 is its flying stage. 



PLATE VII. 




• 'Ji 





Fig. 2. — Caddis Fly. Larva in Sac. 
Natural Size. 



Fig. i.^The Triciptera Phryganea (Sedge- 
Fly), three times natural size. Tliis larva spins 
a cylindrical tube, and when it reaches maturity 
closes the end and enters its pupal e.xistence. 




'/" 




Fig. 4. — The Flying Form. Magnified 



^ 



Fig. 3. — ^The Pupa, three times natural size, 
ready to tear open its pupal envelope and to enter 
its imago or perfected flying existence. 



The Tricoptera, or Caddis Fly 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 67 

The Perlid^ : The Stone-fly 

The sub-aqueous existence of the Perlidae after leaving 
its egg and until maturity is reached, consists of a crawling 
and swimming larval condition lasting several months, 
during which phase it gradually matures and attains by 
progressive changes a state ready for metamorphosis. See 
Plate VIII., Fig. 1. When this is reached it swims to the 
surface, crawls ashore, attaches itself to stone, rock, or 
timber, and undergoes a direct metamorphism into its 
imago existence. 

Its appearance at first is delicate and pale, and it appears 
to have a great difficulty in flying ; but its colour soon 
darkens, and it grows stronger on the wing (see Plate VIII., 
Fig. 2). 

In Plate VIII., Fig. 1 shows the larval stage of the 
Perlidae Nemura variegata (Old Joan), magnified about two- 
and-a-half diameters. The characteristic wings of this 
water insect are to be seen on either side of its body, and 
the larva is shown just before it undergoes its metamorphosis. 
Plate VIII., Fig. 2 shows the mature state of this fly. 

The following are some well-known forms of the Perlidae : 
Stone-fly, Yellow Sally, etc. 

The SiALiDiE : The Alder 

The sub-aqueous existence of this form of insect life is 
purely larval. 

The eggs are laid by the female Alder on grass, rushes, 
etc. When the young larva is hatched, it crawls into the 
water and continues its existence more or less in the shelter 
of the mud until it is ready for its pupal stage (see Plate 
VIII., Fig. 3). 

It then leaves the water again, and burrows in the earth 
to pass its pupal existence ; it there assumes the condition 
of chrysalis or pupa. Changing from the pupal to the flying 



68 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

imago condition within the shelter of this retreat, it crawls 
to the surface and finally takes flight (see Plate VIII., 
Fig. 4). 

The best known form of this fly is the Alder. 

The Diptera, or Two-Winged Fly 

The very numerous varieties of this class of insect pre- 
clude more than a brief reference to those forms which the 
fisherman is most likely to copy as artificial flies. These 
are : The Black Gnat, the Oak-fly, the Spider-fly, the 
Cow-dung, the Golden Dun, the Hawthorn-fly, and the 
Claret Smut, sometimes known as the Red Quill Gnat. 

The larval and pupal characteristics of these flies differ 
widely, and the student can do no better than consult 
entomological works on this and the other families of water 
insects. 

The most common form of this family is the house fly, 
and this hardly needs illustration, but its larval and pupal 
stages may be of interest to the reader. See Plate VIII., 
Figs. 5 and 6. 

What sort of Flies to use and When and Where to 

USE them 

If possible, the fisherman should determine before he 
leaves home what flies he may be likely to want when he 
gets to his water, so that he may be certain of having 
his box well supplied with those which are likely to be 
taken by the fish. He should, if possible, find out with 
which one he should commence his work, for should there 
be no hatch of flies on, no flies to be seen on the water, and 
no evidence available on this subject when he arrives there, 
he will probably lose a great deal of valuable time ere he 
finds out the particular one which is likely to tempt a trout 
to rise. 



PLATE VIII. 





Fig. 2. — Numera variegata. 

Flying form of Fig. i. 

Magnified. 



Fig. I. — PerlidK, Nemura variegata — Small Red 
Stone-Fly — (Old Joan), zj times natural size. 
The larva is shown just ready for its metamor- 
phosis into its imago or perfected flying existence. 
Note the wings. 

These wings are full sized, but are most deli- 
cately packed under their small envelopes, as 
shown above. 



Perlid^. 





Fig. 3. — Sialis cutaricus (.-Vlder Fly), 
form. Magnified. 



Fig. 4. — .\lder I'ly in flying form, twice its 
natural size. 



Sl.\I.ID.S; 




Fig. 5. — Diptera Musca domesticus. Pupal 
form of House Fly, four times natural size. 



Fig. 6. — Larval form of same, four times 
natural size. 



DiPTER.A. 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 69 

Should he have had no previous experience of the water 
he proposes to fish, he should endeavour to discover from 
the owner, or from the keeper of the water, the names of 
those flies which are hatching out, and to which the 
trout are rising. Both the Fishing Gazette and the Field, 
in their weekly fishing reports, give some indication of the 
flies which are being taken by the fish. Some idea as to 
those which are being ordered from that part of the country 
in which he intends fishing, may be obtained from his fishing 
tackle people. 

The rises of different varieties of fly, however, are extremely 
uncertain, and all former experience, as well as the latest 
information from the water, may have to be modified by the 
circumstances which exist at the moment at which he starts 
his fishing. 

The list of artificial flies on p. 71 may be useful to the 
dry fly fisherman, when purchasing his fishing outfit, and 
it will serve as a guide as to the principal varieties of 
flying insects which are, generally speaking, met with in 
different parts of Great Britain and at different seasons of 
the year. 

By making enquiries from some local authority, or at the 
nearest fishing-tackle business, a great deal of trouble and 
disappointment may be prevented when fishing a stream 
for the first time. 

The beginner should always carry a small fly net, with 
which to capture, and so examine, the flying insects which he 
may observe on the water or by the water side. Much 
useful knowledge will be thus acquired, and his chances of 
success greatly increased if he is aware from hour to hour as 
to the flies which he may have to imitate if he desires to 
catch trout.* 

* See the " Ephemeridae" Fly Net, described in the final chapter. 



70 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Fly Boxes 

After using nearly every pattern of Fly Box I have come 
to the conclusion that while it is necessary to have a fair- 
sized wooden or cardboard case divided into compartments 
and fitted with celluloid lids, in which to keep a general 
stock of eyed flies, it is better for field work to have one or 
two small sized japanned tin fly boxes, each containing 
from twelve to fifteen compartments. These fly boxes are 
light, and either one or both can be carried without the 
slightest inconvenience in the creel or in the pockets of the 
fisherman. Each compartment of these fly boxes should 
have a celluloid lid, so that the flies may be always on view ; 
such compartments should be numbered, and should contain 
a carefully selected assortment of the flies which are likely 
to be wanted. On the inside of the lid of the box should be 
a list of the names of the flies carried, and numbered in 
accordance with the numerals on the compartments of the 
box itself. 

The advantages of this method of carrying the flies when 
fishing are many — the beginner will find it to be the 
best and most expeditious way of acquiring a knowledge of 
the names of the flying stages in the life of the water insects, 
and of the imitations which he will have to use when fly 
fishing. 

If, for instance, a novice hears that the Red Quill is being 
taken on the water he is going to fish, he has only to consult 
the lid of his fly box, and he will at once see which compart- 
ment holds the Red Quill flies, and he will then find out 
what the}^ are like, and lesson number one is learnt. If, on 
the other hand, he catches a fly on the water, upon which 
the fish appear to be feeding, and compares it with the flies 
in his fly box, he will soon find a similar flying insect, 
whose name he will discover on the lid of his fly box, and 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 71 

another useful lesson will be learnt, and so on, until such a 
list of the flies can be dispensed with. 

Although I still possess them, I have discarded the use 
of large fly boxes for field work ; they are heavy to carry 
and there is a great danger that when handling it the box 
may be dropped, the flies lost, etc., and a greater difficulty 
will be experienced when trying to find the fly for immediate 
use. 

Different Flies and When to Use Them 
The hatches of the different varieties of flying insects 
during spring, summer and autumn merge into one another, 
and while the advent of some species is peculiar to spring, 
some to summer, and others again to autumn, several of 
them will kill all the year round. 

The following names will form a very complete list of the 
most useful flies for fishing in different parts of Great Britain, 
and if a careful selection, taken from this list of artificial 
flies, be made and carried in two such boxes as I recommend, 
it should cover every variety of flying insect which are taken 
by the fish on any one water at any one period of the year. 
Different varieties of flying insects to those given will 
be found to occur in certain districts, and some of the flies 
are local in their occurrence, but the list comprises the 
names of the imitations of the best known flying water 
insects, used by fishermen, with which trout are captured, 
and while the names of these flies may vary in different 
fishing districts yet the list will be found to be fairly 
comprehensive and reliable. 

1 February Red.* 6 Light Blue Dun.]] 

2 Red Palmer.* || 7 Light Olive Dun.* || 

3 March Brown.* 8 Sand Fly.* 

4 Greenwell's Glory. || 9 Blue Dun.* || 

5 Iron Blue Dun.* f 10 Gravel Fly.* j 



72 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



11 Blue Upright.* || 

12 Light Evening Dun.f 

13 Coch-y-Bondhu.f || 

14 Whitchurch Dun. f J 

15 Dark 01ive.|| 

16 Shaw's Fancy Hackle, jj 

17 Grannom.* 

18 Jenny Spinner.* 

19 Cow Dung.* I! 

20 Hare's Ear.* jj 

21 Wickham's Fancy.]! 

22 Tupp's Indispensable, f J 

23 Governor, t 

24 Red Spinner.* f 

25 Red Quill, t || 

26 Olive Quill.* |1 

27 Red Quill Gnat, f t 

28 Yellow Dun.* f 



29 Black Gnat.* || 

30 Whirling Dun. J 

31 Alder.* f 

32 Shaw's Fancy Winged. 

33 Pale Dun.j 

34 Welshman's Button, f 

35 May Fly. t 

36 Silver Horn.f 

37 Blue Quill, til 

38 Coachman. t f 

39 Stone Fly.* J f 

40 Ginger Quill, f J 

41 Silver Sedge, f 

42 Golden Sedge, f J 

43 July Dun.f 

44 Dark Coachman. J 

45 August Dun. J 

46 Red Tag. I! 



* denotes the flies which appear as a rule in March, April or May. 

t ,, ,, ,, in May, June or July. 

X „ „ ,, in July, August and September. 

II ,, ,, may be used with success throughout the season. 

Thus * II coming after the name of a fly denotes that it will generally appear 
in the early part of the year, March, April, or May, but that it is useful all 
the season. 



The Gravel Fly, Grannom, Hare's Ear, Tupp's Indis- 
pensable, Stone Fly, Yellow Sally, and the Sand Fly, etc., 
are some of the flies peculiar only to certain localities. 

Certain flies, such as the Blue Dun, Blue Quills, and Blue 
Dun Hackle, can at times be used in place of one another, 
and so with the Red Spinner, Red Quill, and Wickham's 
Fancy, also with the Light Evening Dun, the Light Yellow 
Dun, and the Light Olive Quill. By this I mean to imply, 
that if the fisherman does not happen to have a pattern of 
any one of the above flies exactly similar to the natural 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 73 

fly on the water, he will be well advised to substitute 
any other of the flies thus grouped together. 

Looking back over many years of trout fly fishing, it 
appears to me that though each district, or even the different 
rivers in each district, may have its own special order in 
the appearance of the metamorphosis of the aqueous life 
of its water insects into their flying state, yet the order 
in which I have placed the artificial flies will be found to 
have a fairly general application, and to be somewhat 
in the order in which these flying insects will appear, 
although some of them will be taken throughout the fishing 
season. 

There are districts in which certain flies are successful 
at all times of the year, and for this reason it is advisable 
to avail oneself where possible of the experience of the local 
fishermen. 

A certain fly may appear by the water side at an earlier 
or later date than usual, but it does not follow that at 
their first hatch such flies will be taken by the trout, 
or indeed until some weeks have elapsed after their first 
appearance. 

Any of the above flies may be useful for dry fly fishing 
on lochs, etc. For wet fly fishing on lochs the flies locally 
used and tied on gut can nearly always be obtained. 

If you intend fishing in any particular district, you 
should, when stocking your fly case, commence with the 
flies which are recognized killers on the rivers, streams and 
lochs which you are going to fish. 

If, however, your fishing is likely to be extensive, and 
you are to visit different parts of the United Kingdom, then 
it will be well to stock all the flies in the list I have given, 
and arrange your small fly box daily. 

Were I dependent on — say twenty — different flies, I 
should choose the following varieties : — 



74 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Three Shades of OHve Quills — light, medium and dark-l 

Two shades of Olive Dun — light and dark. J 

Two shades of Blue Dun — light and dark.f 

Light Blue Quill, f Wickham's Fancy. $ 

Red Quill. J Golden Sedge.* 

Ginger Quill. J Hare's Ear.f 

Yellow Dun. I Coachman.* 

Coch-y-Bondhu.J Iron Blue.f 

Alder. J Dark Winged medium Olive 

Shaw's Fancy Winged.* Quill- 1 

It is important to remember that many of the Duns and 
Spinners, though similar in appearance, differ in the sizes 
in which they will be encountered, and while it is impossible 
to give anything like a perfect list of the sizes which should 
be within reach of the fisherman, I think that flies marked 
in the above list with an asterisk may be stocked on 
the No. I hook, but those marked with a dagger on a 
No. 00 hook, and those marked with a double dagger 
may be stocked in both these sizes. 

The May Fly. 

To those who can and do fish fairly constantly throughout 
the year the advent of the May Fly season is by no means 
an unmixed blessing. It certainly makes sport for the 
time easier, but it unsettles the regular feeding habits of 
the trout for several weeks after the May Fly has passed, 
and it induces rather a careless habit of relying on one class 
of flying insect as a lure, and a self-satisfied disregard of 
what may be frequently taking place, viz., that other forms 
of Ephemeridas, etc., are preferred, and are being taken 
by the trout. In this way the neglect of the ever varying 
character of the flies which are hatching out and being taken 
ensues, and frequently leads to a less successful day's fishing, 

* No. I hook. f No. oo hook. J No. i and No. oo hooks. 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 75 

the tendency being to leave the ordinary fly box at home, 
and to persist in presenting the May Fly to fish who may 
be feeding on the Alder, the Welshman's Button, the Olive 
Quill, etc. 

On the Patterns of Flies 

The fly fisherman, to be generally successful, should 
endeavour to cultivate the habit of observation. 

It will be the observant fisherman alone who is able at 
certain times, to discover the fly on which the trout are 
feeding, or at others he alone will be able, by recalling the 
result of former observation, to select a fly which will 
attract the fish, and thus find, by the success which will 
result from his selection, and by the non-success of his 
brother anglers, how extremely valuable is this knowledge. 

Trout appear at times to throw off their accustomed 
caution and daintiness, and feed eagerly upon almost any 
variety of flying insect — no matter how it be presented to 
them. 

At times, and this is the evening carnival, it has appeared 
to me that no matter how skilfully the fly may be cast, or 
what size or variety of fly may be used, the furious boil of 
rising trout will bring few, if any, fish to the creel (see The 
Rise, p. 80). Sometimes and under normal circumstances 
the exact size and shade of the natural fly must be copied 
in order to secure a fish, no matter how eagerly the trout may 
be feeding, and this again is the time when the observant 
man will score, especially when he is capable of making his 
own flies and carries with him the necessary material for 
the purpose. 

An interesting suggestion has been brought before the 
readers of the Fishing Gazette. It was suggested by 
one of its readers that an International Collection of 
artificial flies should be founded, and a reply to this was 



76 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

made by Mr. Val Conson, author of " Wet Fly Methods on 
Dry Fly Streams," in a letter to this paper (29.11. 13) which, 
in my opinion, embodied the soundest advice. He said : — 

" Mature consideration, however, convinced me 
that the tendencies of such collections would not 
be beneficial to fly-fishing at large. Any system 
which tempts amateurs to copy copies, instead of 
to copy nature, is, in my opinion, bad for fly-dressing. 
I am all for individuality in fly-dressing. Let each 
man obtain a mastery over materials and their 
handling and then dress his flies according to the light 
of Nature, from Nature, rather than from books 
or other artificial flies." 

I have pleasure in printing a letter from Mr. R. T. 
Wickham, which my readers may find of great interest. The 
conclusions so clearly stated by the writer of this letter 
were the result of practical observation by the late Mr. David 
Foster, and Mr. Wickham's letter will no doubt assist the 
fisherman in the selection of the most valuable flies to carry 
with him when fishing. 

While not being able to acquiesce entirely in Mr. 
Wickham's theory that all the flies on our chalk streams 
are the descendants of four different families, I think that 
the proposition in itself should lead to a careful consideration 
of this theory, and doubtless to further knowledge. Mr. 
David Foster isolated in a floating tank the spinners of these 
four families, and he found that as a result be obtained the 
various kind of flies and water insects which are known on 
our trout rivers. The correctness of this theory therefore 
depends on whether or no the isolation was absolutely 
perfect. 

" December 19th, 1913. 
" Dear Mr. Shaw, — The theory of the Duns or 
Fisherman's Ephemera, which I was telling you 
about the other day, is much more fully set out in the 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 77 

late David Foster's " Scientific Angler."* It must 
be something like twenty-five years since I first saw 
a copy of this little book, and about thirty-five 
since my cousin, the late Dr. Charles Wickham, of 
Winchester,! first told me of the theory — and I have 
so far found it a never failing guide to the proper 
selection of the likely fly, and also as increasing the 
interest of one's fishing. Briefly the theory is as 
follows : — 

" That the Fishing Ephemeridae are all contained 
in the limits of four distinct families, and that all the 
Duns we fish with are governed by the rules 
regulating these families. He holds that these 
families consists in order of size : — 

" I. The May Fly or Green Drake. 

" 2. The March Brown. 

" 3. The Blue or Olive Dun. 

" 4. The little Iron Blue Dun. 

" It was of the two last I was talking, as most 
concerning our ordinary trout stream in the South of 
England. 

" Mr, Foster declared, and Dr. Wickham has told 
me he had proved, that all the larger Duns were the 
progeny of the Red Spinner, that is that the Blue, 
Olive, Yellow and Ginger Duns are each according 
to the time of the year, hatched out from the eggs of 
the Red Spinner, and that the colour varied pro- 
gressively according to the time of the year and the 
temperature of the air and water. He found that 
from the eggs of the Red Spinner laid in June, he 
got:— 

" In February, the Blue Dun. 

" In April, the Blue Dun with Olive Legs or 
Cockwing Dun, varying on dirty days to the Dark, 
and on fine warm days to the Medium Olive. 

* To be obtained from Messrs. Foster Bros., Ashbourne, Derbyshire, 
price 2s. 6cl. 

t The originator of that excellent fly, " Wickham's Fancy." 



78 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

" In May, the fly became lighter — pale olive and 
Yellow Dun. 

" In June, Yellow Dun, and Golden Dun or 
Ginger Quill. 

" July to August, Ginger to pale watery, and as 
September came, so did the Olive tint return, and in 
October and November the fly again becomes the 
Blue Dun of the opening months of the year. 

" But all these flies, no matter when hatched, 
become in a few days the Red Spinner or Red Quill 
Gnat. 

" In the same way, the Iron Blue, often the darkest 
purple in the end of April, becomes paler through the 
seasons, at some times taking on an olive tinge — 
you remember Francis Francis getting Judson's 
Dyes to alter the colouring of the legs of his Iron Blues 
— and sometimes becoming almost as blue as a trans- 
parent azure butterfly, but changing into the Jenny 
Spinner, which is the parent of the race.* 

" The March Brown follows in the same way from 
the dirty brown of April, through the turkey and light 
March Brown, to the grout Red Spinner or 
Mackerel. 

" I have found this myself correct in every way — 
on the Itchen — in the Midlands — in Wales or in 
Scotland, There are the two sizes and in colours 
almost accurately altering according to the time of 
year, and so you will use your dark or light olive, 
your iron blue or ginger dun ; remembering always 
that a dark and dirty or cold day will make the taking 
pattern a bit darker or earlier, and a bright dry time 
will brighten up the shades and colours to be used. 

" The prevalence of the Red Spinner accounts for 
the value of the Red Quill, or Wickham's Fancy 
through the season — and I think the Jenny Spinner 

* A very good imitation of this fly was known in my boyhood as 
" Hammond's Fancy," but its relationship to the Iron Blue was not recognized 
then. 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 79 

accounts for the value of the Silver Bodied Dun on a 
wet dark day. 

" The partridge and yellow, snipe and yellow, 
snipe and purple, and other such hackles are, of course 
largely the nymphs of the above flies, though there 
are others of the perlidae and the phryganidae, which 
are valuable on tree-covered or gravel bordered 
streams. 

" The other thing we mentioned was my fancy for 
the Claret and Mallard, and its reasons. The pattern 
I mean is claret silk body, not fur or wool, ribbed 
round gold wire, black or furnace hackle, and grey 
mallard wings. I have this fly generally in nearly 
all sizes, and on unknown waters most often begin 
with it on the cast, in sizes according to what I 
expect at the time of year. 

" On 00 hook, it is a passable Iron Blue Dun. 

" On hook, it will do for a Blue Dun or a dirty 
Red Spinner and is the right size for any of the Olive 
Duns. 

" On No 2 to 4, it is about the size and not unlike 
a March Brown in all its changes — a gravel bed or 
an alder. 

" And lastly, as No. 5, or 6, it makes a dark moth 
or sedge, or in the May fly season, when this size 
kills best, a dark Mackerel. And it is not its worst 
fault that it is the best sea trout fly, and salmon 
do not seem to dislike it. 

" I ask you to excuse this unconscionable epistle, 
and beg to remain, 

" Yours sincerely, 

" R. T. WiCKHAM." 

However exact may be the artificial fly, both in colour, 
shape, and size to the natural insect which the trout are 
taking, a fisherman will often find that his artificial one will 
be neglected in favour of the natural fly whose legs and wings 
may happen to be moving. In such a case, it is advisable 



80 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

to change the fly for one of a totally different colour, shape 
and size, but I think it should be one which is generally 
on the water or taken at that particular season of the year. 
Nothing can be more illustrative of this than the usefulness 
of the Alder or the Welshman's Button during the May fly 
season. 

The Rise 

Trout rise to the fly at all hours and during all weathers. 
In the early moments of dawn, during the hottest hour of an 
autumn day, as the sun sinks, as darkness descends, and 
during the stilly hours of a midsummer night, distinct and 
noticeable rises of trout may be witnessed. If, however, I 
had to select any four hours on any day during the season 
in which to fish, I think I should choose the hours between 
10 a.m. and 2 p.m. 

The causes which lead to the rise — that mysterious 
impulse which suddenly quickens the trout world into the 
activity of feeding time — have, so far as I am aware, never 
been satisfactorily explained ; it is, therefore, with some 
diffidence that I advance a theory which I have held for 
some time as to this important problem. 

I consider that one common cause of the rise is the sudden 
impulse of the pupae of the Ephemeridae to ascend to the 
surface and take wing. 

Fishing one day with a Grannom on one of the stretches 
of the Axe, in Devonshire, I had by noon creeled several 
trout, when a furious rise of the fish commenced in my 
neighbourhood. 

To my surprise, neither the rising trout nor the dace would 
look at the Grannom, and after many fruitless casts I decided 
to change my fly. This I did several times, but with no 
success, until at last I noticed a fly on the water. 

By the aid of my small butterfly-net I captured the fly. 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 81 

which turned out to be an Iron Blue in its sub-imago 
state, and the first I had seen that season. Hastily putting 
one on my cast, I secured a fish at my first throw, and 
although the rise only lasted some twenty minutes longer, 
I caught seven other fish. When the rise ceased there 
existed a big hatch of Iron Blue in the air, but the few 
solitary rising fish took no further notice of the Iron Blue 
Duns, which rapidly disappeared. I tried it, however, for 
some time longer, but eventually I replaced it with my 
Grannom, and creeled several other trout before going home. 

Before putting on the Grannom, however, I examined the 
food in the latest caught fish, and found that the upper part 
of its gullet contained a great number of nymphae or pupae 
of the Iron Blue in their most advanced stage, several 
specimens having their wings already unfolded. 

I am inclined, therefore, to think that, owing to some 
alterations of the meteorological conditions, the pupae of 
this Ephemeridae, moved by one of those mysterious impulses 
which occasionally influence the insect world, had risen to 
the surface to assume their sub-imago existence, and that 
this general movement was the cause of the trout leaving 
the Grannon in favour of the Iron Blue. 

Since that occasion I have corroborated the theory I then 
formed by examining the food of the fish caught during a 
sudden rise, and have found that it consists, as a rule, of a 
greater number of the pupae than the sub-imago of the 
existing hatch. I have also noticed the trout during a rise 
taking the pupae below the surface, and have seen the trout 
following pupae up, and taking them just as they reach the 
surface of the water. 

I do not claim that this suggestion will account for all the 
general rises peculiar to trout, but I think that in many cases 
it can be proved to be due to some initial movement of the 
pupae towards their next metamorphosis. A few heavy 

7 



82 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

drops of rain are followed or accompanied by a rise ; this 
rise may be produced by an upward movement of the 
pupae in response to the meteorological influences at work. 
Again, certain summer evenings, at about the same hour and 
for a similar period, generally as the sun sets, will produce a 
general rise ; this rise, so well known to fishermen, is, so far 
as I can see, to be accounted for only by the cooler tempera- 
ture inducing a general change from the pupal to the flying 
state of certain small water insects ; these, as they ascend 
to the surface, become clearly visible to the fish, which 
follow them, and seize those which have not had time to 
assume a flying condition. The fish are not, therefore, 
feeding on flying insects. This evening carnival of the 
trout is invariably accompanied by an enormous hatch of 
small flying Ephemeridae, etc., probably those which are 
missed by the trout and thus escape from the surface of the 
water to which they have risen. Again and again have I 
witnessed the water at such times fairly boiling with the 
rising fish, but it has been seldom that I have had the 
success of landing even as much as a brace of fish, though 
after this excitement has subsided, the Coachman, Silver 
Sedge, or Shaw's Fancy, have proved most deadly. 

There is no doubt that " bulging " is produced by the 
activity of the sub-aqueous entomological life. 

The method by which the latest food taken by a trout 
can be determined is by holding the trout in one hand, and, 
with a firm upward pressure of the fingers of the other hand 
along the lower sides of the abdomen of the fish towards the 
gills, expressing, or forcing into the mouth, the latest food 
swallowed by the trout, which may then be examined. 
Should this pressure not succeed to the satisfaction of the 
angler, the knife can be used to open the upper part of the 
gullet or stomach, in order to discover of what this food 
may happen to consist. 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 83 

The Best Time to Fish 

The forenoon is, in my opinion, the most fascinating time 
for fishing ; there is no arriere-pensee as to coming darkness, 
the whole day is before one, the creel is light, and the 
anticipations and hopes of sport are keen. 

As proving from my own experience the varying times of 
the day at which big trout may be caught with the dry fly, 
I give the following extract from some of my fishing 
diaries : — 

1893.* — The Wye, Bakewell, noon, cloudy, 2 pounds 6 ounces, 
Olive Quill. 

1903. — The Test, Nursling, noon, bright, 4 pounds, May-fly. 

19051. — The Otter, Devonshire, 9 p.m., calm, fine, i pound 10 ounces. 
Coachman. 

1905.* — The Otter, Devonshire, 5 a.m., light breeze, fine, i pound 
15 ounces, Red Quill. 

1905. — The Irfon, Llangammarch Wells, noon, fresh breeze, bright, 

1 pound 6 ounces, Shaw's Fancy. 

1899.* — The Wutach, Black Forest, 11 a.m., baking hot, 2 pounds 

2 ounces, Olive QuUl. (Caught on the edge of a stream, in about 
four inches of water.) 

1899. — The Arcque, Normandy, 4 p.m., gale, cloudy, 3 pounds 

10 ounces, May-fly. 

1897.* — Mountain stream, Norway, 2 p.m., baking hot, 4 pounds 

11 ounces. May fly. (No May-fly known there; quite calm, August, 
dibbling.) 

1892. Lake near Felide, Norway, midnight, June, 4 pounds 2 
ounces. Silver Sedge. 

Plate IX. shows the two trout mentioned above, taken 
from the Otter. 

The Evening Rise 

Although some hours cannot be regarded as favourable 
ones in which to fish, yet trout will rise at floating food at 
all times during the night or day. 

♦ These fish were caught by fishing the stream, no rise guiding me as to 
the fish. 

t On Mr. George Peppin's water at Harpford. 



84 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

After a bright and hot day during the summer months, 
the sub-imago stage of life will be assumed by many water 
insects, while innumerable imago forms of insect life will 
float or soar through the ambient air in the delicate mazes of 
their bridal dance. The trout at these times indulge in , 
their usual evening carnival, presumably busy amid the 
ascending nymphae, or perchance feeding eagerly on some 
smut-like flying insect. After this is over they settle down 
with serious supper intentions, and continue feeding at 
intervals, sometimes well on into the small hours of the 
morning. As darkness deepens, and before the full moon has 
risen to keep her vigil and illumine with her silvery enchant- 
ment the first sweet slumber of Nature, the fisherman, who 
has perhaps had a bad day, may be tempted to fish on, 
regardless of dinner consideration or of losing his last train. 
By facing west he can still detect the rise of feeding fish, 
and even if fish are rising close to the opposite bank and out 
of sight amid its shadows, the sound of the rise will very 
frequently guide him in making an accurate cast, and 
eventually landing a big fish. The rise of the fish at his fly 
will in most cases be seen, felt, or heard — seen, because a 
comparatively big ring will be caused by a rise, and on the 
slopes of the attendant ripple the glint and reflection from 
the western sky will be detected, even amid the blackness 
of the shadows under the opposite bank ; heard, because 
the evening rise of a fish at a floating fly, owing to its more 
limited vision at night-time, is frequently more sudden and 
less dignified, and therefore, in most cases, more clearly 
audible amid the general hush of Nature ; felt, because 
the fisherman's line at night should be as short and 
straight as possible, and when the fly is taken by the fish 
the tug will in most cases be distinctly noticeable. (See 
Plate X.) 



WATER INSECTS AND THE RISE 85 

Fly Fishing at Night 

There are undoubtedly rivers or lakes on which during 
the day time it is almost impossible to obtain a fish, but on 
which it is possible to make very good baskets of trout during 
the night time, by casting well across the water with a 
large and darkish dry fly, and drawing this fly slowly over 
the top of the water, thus imitating the fluttering motions 
of a flying insect which has fallen on the surface. 

A " dry " fly, which, from its size or its drag, will put a 
fish down in daylight, appears to stimulate the same fish 
at night time. One can, therefore, fish with a dry fly at 
night, can throw to the sound of a rise, and, by gently 
dragging the fiy along the water, can feel the touch of the 
rise which is likely to follow. A large fluffy fly, such as the 
Stone Fly, or a Sedge, will be found to be the best to use. 

The best method, in playing a fish at night time, is to 
move the rod point in the opposite direction to that 
towards which the fish is struggling, and to continue to do 
this until the latter is sufficiently quiet to be drawn in and 
netted. 

Fishing by Moonlight 

And now the moon has risen and is lighting a path of 
silvery brightness on the placid waters of the trout stream. 
You are wading, and the stream is broad, and the banks 
low. Watch this path of melted silver, spilt as it were on 
the inky surface of the stream, and ere long a small speck 
will appear, followed by a single tiny ring which quietly 
opens out round it — a rise which would not, perhaps, have 
been noticed in the daylight, though probably caused by a 
good fish. Now throw your Silver Sedge just above, and 
let it float over the place in which you saw the rise, and you 
will get your fish, maybe with less trouble than you would 



86 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

experience in daylight. The pall of night is your back- 
ground, and therefore the fish are less able to see you ; 
they are not so suspicious, nor so prone to seek the shelter of 
the weeds or the entanglements of their retreat, and until 
they see you they will not know from which quarter comes 
the galling restraint of your fly. 



CHAPTER V 

THE SENSES OF TROUT AND HOW THEY AFFECT 
THE FISHERMAN. 

The vision of a trout — Horizontal sight — ^Vertical sight — ^These factors 
as they affect the fisherman. 

I think it may be accepted as a fact that fish can distinguish 
the flavour of different kinds of food, but, so far as I am 
aware, it has not been decided whether it is their olfactory 
organs which are affected, or whether they possess a sense of 
taste only. The use of paraffin may cause a more rapid 
rejection of the artificial fly by the trout, but whether it 
might not be advisable to apply an odour to the body or 
hackle of a fly — similar to that of the real fly — remains to be 
proved. Fishermen have claimed that certain flavours are 
beloved of trout, but the result of personal experiment in 
the application of such flavours to the body of a fly is a 
branch of flyfishing still very much open to original discovery. 
I have experimented with various essences, and considered 
that I met with success by mixing two or three drops of the 
oil of aniseed with my paraffin-oil. This suggestion may be 
of some use to my readers, and perhaps induce them to 
continue such experiments until some perfect mixture has 
been discovered. 

Trout are undoubtedly sensible to colour distinctions, and 
they can also detect the most subtle differences in the shade 
and tint of the different parts of the various water insects 
on which they feed, whether the difference exists in the 
wings, the hackle, or the body of the fly. It is fortunate, 
therefore, for the fisherman that there are not only 

87 



88 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

variations as regards colour in the individual members of 
each hatch of water insects, but also that trout do not 
always appear to exercise the power of discriminating which 
they undoubtedly possess, but will rise freely to the poorest 
imitations of the flies which are on the water. 

I do not consider that trout can appreciate sound as we 
know it ; rather are they gifted with a fine sense of all 
vibratory motion. Sound is communicated by the vibration 
of the air or other elements, but other vibrations of these 
elements can be produced without sound, and the trout 
may, therefore, depend on the tactile nerves rather than on 
the auditory ones. If trout were dependent on the faculty 
of hearing for their safety, and relied to any extent on this 
faculty to give them warning of a danger which might not 
be within their range of vision, I do not think that wading 
would be so productive of good results as it undoubtedly is. 
The noise of one's brogues on the pebbles can be distin- 
guished when the ear is submerged for considerably over 
half a mile in perfectly quiet and unbroken water in rivers, 
and for miles in lakes. 

The Vision of a Trout 

Although it is supposed that trout cannot see an object 
which is behind them — that is, in the direction of their 
tails, I am of the opinion that under certain conditions 
they can indirectly perceive the approach of any object 
above the surface of the water, even when such objects are 
directly behind them, i.e., in what I call the normal zone 
of invisibility. (See Diagram 1, C.E.D.). 

I have noticed that however carefully I have approached 
from the lower end of a shallow, pebbly pool, unless my 
approach is masked by a heavy background of trees, the 
trout in the shallow and lower end take fright and run up 
into the upper or deeper portion. For many years the 



THE SENSES OF A TROUT 89 

uncanny quickness of trout in discovering my vicinity 
under these conditions completely baffled me, but curiously 
enough the explanation came to me when bathing in the 
Ifafa River, Swaziland. I had been swimming in just such 
a pool as I have described, and had drifted to the lower and 
shallow end. My body was resting on the pebbles, and my 
eyes were just above the water gazing up-stream, when my 
attention was drawn to a distinct lessening of the light on 
the pebbles in front of my eyes, and slowly turning my head, 
I found two Reit buck standing on the bank of the river a 
little distance below me, and silhouetted against the clear sky, 
from which position they had appreciably lessened the light 
falling on the pebbles. Their curiosity had evidently been 
aroused, and they appeared to be looking at me intently. 
I did not move, but something frightened them, and they 
turned and bolted out of sight. The incident, however, 
solved the difficulty. 

In shallow, pebbly pools the trout lie immediately over 
the glistening and reflecting surface of the pebbles. Any 
object, therefore, which comes between these pebbles and 
the sky must shut out some of the light which falls on them, 
and this lessening of the light they reflect must warn the 
trout that some object is moving or approaching them from 
down stream, and hence their movement up stream. 

Horizontal Sight 

If the eyes are assumed to be the centre of the horizontal 
plane in which the fish is lying, a trout, in ordinary 
condition, can see in that plane from a point right ahead to 
an angle of about sixty degrees behind each shoulder. In 
other words, any object situated in the 300 degrees of 
the forward part of the horizontal circle surrounding 
a trout, will, as a rule, be visible, while any object situated 
in the remaining sixty degrees of that circle would be 



90 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

invisible. Mr. Sheringham told me some time ago of a 
case in which he had proved that trout can apparently see 
at times directly behind themselves. I admit that trout 
do become aware of a danger at times, when in the supposed 
zone of invisibility, but not in the horizontal plane in which 
the trout is lying. It will generally be found that if an 
object be thus seen by the trout it will have been because 
the object has been lifted at some height above the surface, 
where the bulge of its shoulders would not intervene 
between its eye and the object, as it would if the object 
and the trout's eye were in one plane. 

In Diagram 1, if A B C D represents the horizontal 
plane in which the trout is lying, E the eye, and T the 
tail of the fish, its eyes are naturally directed up-stream, 
and when in this position it can see any object in its own 
plane in the unshaded portion D A B C, and cannot 
directly see, without moving its position, any object in the 
shaded portion C E D. Hence it is that the fly fisherman, 
when within this latter zone, can generally approach his 
fish without being detected. 

Vertical Sight 

In any vertical plane passing through the eye of the 
trout, however, a different range of sight has to be con- 
sidered, and an entirely new factor presents itself — this is 
the refractive influence of the water on all rays entering 
it. I need not here enter into the laws of refraction, but 
will ask my readers to accept as a fact that the vertical range 
of the vision of a trout, as regards all objects external to the 
water, may be regarded as being confined to the interior 
of a hollow cone, the apex of which cone is situated at the 
eye of the trout, and the sides of which rise upward, meeting 
the surface of the water at an angle of 42 degrees. So far 
as the fish is concerned, within this hollow cone — which. 



THE SENSES OF A TROUT 



91 



therefore, subtends an angle of 96 degrees in every upward 
direction — is confined the view of all objects within the 
180 degrees vertically above the water. In other words, 
the trout sees, as it were, all objects above the surface of the 
water within an arc of about half that in which these 
objects really exist, and consequently, the comparative 
size of these objects must be relatively smaller in view of 
their being cramped into its smaller field of vision. 



^\zr\zorTrouts i,. . 




Diagram i. 
A B C D, horizontal plane of trout's vision ; 
E T , trout ; 
D A C B, horizontal zone of trout's sight. 

In order to make this perfectly clear to my readers, I 
have shown two diagrams. 

In Diagram 2, E is the eye of the fish, from which rises 
a vertical cone E A, E C, E B, ED, the sides of which cut 
the surface of the water as shown at A B C D, 

All rays of light from objects above the water which 
reach the trout at E must enter the water within the circle 



92 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



A C B D. Let A E B (see Diagram 3) be a vertical section 
of the cone in Diagram 2, cutting the surface of the water at 
A B. Then the rays of light from M N can only be seen by 
a trout situated at E, when they enter along the dotted lines, 
N B E, M & E, and the fish sees M N as in the direction h B, 
and also relatively reduced in size to h B. 

Objects immediately over the trout will suffer least 
from the influence of refraction, but their appearance will 
suffer the more as they leave the zenith and approach the 
hozizon. 

To the trout the full moon as it rises will appear as 
a small horizontal line of light forty-two degrees above the 




£ 
Diagram 2. 
a ch d, A B C D, surface of water ; 
E, the eye of trout ; 

E A, E B, E C, ED, the upward cone within which is confined 
the trout's sight of all objects above the surface of the 
water within the range of the trout's vision. 

real horizon, and it will gradually assume its circular 
shape as it approaches the zenith. 

It will thus be seen that the nearer an object is to the 
water level when outside the water, the less will be the angle 
which it will relatively subtend to the fish ; in other words, 
the lower the position of an object when at equal distances, 
the smaller it will appear to the fish. 



THE SENSES OF A TROUT 



93 



These Factors as they affect the Fisherman 

This important fact is taken advantage of by the fisher- 
man, who, although he may not understand the optical 
laws of refraction, has learnt from experience that, in order 
to avoid scaring the fish, he must crouch as much as possible 
and thus reduce his height, and that an overhead cast is 
more likely to scare a fish than a side cast. Not that he 
escapes being seen when within the limit of the trout's 
vision, but his bulk and that of his rod are then generally 



-^ 




Diagram 3. 
A E B, a vertical section of the hollow cone in Diagram 2, 

cutting surface of water at A B. 
M N, any object on land, such as a man. 
E 6 M, E B N, the lines along which the rays of light from 

the man M N will travel to the fish. 
E &, E B, the direction in which the trout will see the man. 
E i D, E (Z D, the lines showing how the under surface of 

water acts as a mirror to the trout of all objects under 

the water and outside the cone E A E B. 



insufficient to frighten the fish seriously. Wading]^ is for 
this reason the best method of approaching fish. Although 
a man's size is relatively reduced the more nearly he sinks 
to the level of the water, still, in ordinary circumstances, 
he is clearly visible on the trout's horizon when within 
that part of the zone D A B C, Diagram 1. If, then, this 



94 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

appearance is accompanied by an invariable agitation of the 
surface, or the violent appearance of lines or flies over a 
trout's head, even the most unsophisticated fish wUl quickly 
learn to associate these two phenomena, and be increasingly 
ready to take fright when a man is seen. Hence the 
necessity for caution when approaching a fish, and delicacy 
and finesse when casting on the part of the fisherman — not 
only on his own account, but out of consideration for his 
brother anglers. The lifting of the line from the water 
when making the backward cast should be effected in the 
smoothest and the most delicate manner possible for the 
latter reason. 

All other downward rays coming to the eye of the trout, 
save those which enter the arc subtended by the cone of the 
trout's vertical vision, are external to the cone, and are 
either from the submerged portion of some floating object, 
or the reflections from the under surface of the water of 
sub-aqueous objects, the water, in this latter case, acting 
outside this zone as a huge mirror of all bodies below its 
surface (see E ^ D, E <^ D, Diagram 3). 

It must not be supposed that this mirror is an unbroken 
one, for every object falling on and breaking the surface 
of the water becomes at once visible, not only within the 
zone A. C. B. D., Diagram 2, but outside this zone. This 
is an important point, and is one which is but too often 
over-iooked by the fisherman. I have frequently met 
people who imagine that, because they throw their line 
so that it does not fall within the circle A. C. B. D., they are 
by so doing preventing the trout from seeing it. When 
coaching Major Sir William Evans Gordon, in 1909, I was 
explaining the method of avoiding the drag by throwing 
the line so that it fell in an up-stream curve on the water, 
and he suggested the advantage that this cast would have 
in presenting the fly to a trout immediately up-stream. He 



THE SENSES OF A TROUT 96 

was correspondingly disappointed when I explained to him 
that this would have little or no effect so far as the vision 
of the trout was concerned, for whatever advantage there 
might be in preventing the line from falling directly over 
the trout, it would be equally, if not more distinctly, visible 
to the fish as it broke the surface to either side. 

It may be taken for granted that, in ordinary circum- 
stances, when a fisherman can see the trout the trout can 
see him. There are, however, three influencing factors, 
which must always be considered : 

1. The amount of light falling on either. 

2. The glint or glare in the eyes of one or the other. 

3. The background of each. 

1. The first may be considered as sometimes favouring 
the fish and sometimes the angler. 

2. The second factor will be mostly in favour of the fish ; 
the fisherman gets most if not all of the glint and reflection 
from the surface, though the glare of the sun must handicap 
the fish to a great extent. 

3. The third factor is the background, which, however, 
is almost invariably in favour of the trout. A dark back- 
ground is of the greatest importance to the fisherman 
when approaching a fish, and a skyline behind is always to 
be avoided. If, when fishing from the bank, he has no 
near background, such as a wood, a hedge, a wall or tree, 
etc., he should be as little above the water level and as 
much behind the fish as is possible. Wading, again, for 
this reason, will be the most advantageous position for the 
fly fisherman. 

It may be argued that the appearance of the waders 
below the surface, when within the zone of the lateral 
vision of the trout (see the unshaded portion of Diagram 1), 
will scare the fish more than the appearance of the fisher- 



96 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

man above the water. This is not so, however, for the rays 
of light from the fisherman on the bank, say at forty feet 
distance, would lose nothing in passing through the air till 
they strike and enter the water (as at h B, Diagram 3) ; 
they will then only have some two to four feet of water to 
pass through before reaching the fish. A certain amount of 
light will be undoubtedly lost, even in this small distance, 
owing to the density of the water, but the vertical depth 
of the fish below the surface of any trout stream will never 
be sufficiently great to prevent all rays reaching it. This 
density of the water will cause a very rapid diminution of the 
rays from any sub-aqueous object, as horizontal or vertical 
distance is attained ; and while objects may, in favourable 
circumstances, be still visible to the fish twenty-five feet 
away, in any horizontal direction within the zone of its 
horizontal sight, they may in calm, still waters be taken as 
being unnoticeable in ordinary circumstances at a distance 
of about thirty feet. In rapid running water the rays from 
any object will be still further lost or deflected by the eddies, 
etc. 

From my own experience in a diving-dress in the clear 
waters of the Torres Straits, which were undisturbed by any 
ripples, eddies, etc., I found that all objects in the horizontal 
plane were invisible to me beyond a distance of about twenty 
feet : the head of a shark coming towards me would be 
visible at about seventeen feet, while its tail would at the 
same time be quite invisible and lost in the misty wall 
surrounding me.* It may be, therefore, confidently assumed 
that the wader, even when faced by the trout, will, as far as 
his waders are concerned, be unnoticed by the trout at a 
distance of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet. 



* While this limit to my range of sight may have been due, to a certain 
extent, to the thick glass of the helmet through which I had to look, the greater 
part of it would be due to the absorption of light by the water itself. 



CHAPTER VI 

PISCICULTURE AND A FEW REMARKS ON THE NATURAL 
HISTORY OF THE TROUT. 

Cultivation of trout — Consideration when breeding — ^The description 
of a Trout Fishery — ^The Itchen as a Trout Stream — Relative 
values of food stuffs for trout — ^Trout and the close season — Time 
of spawning — Close season too short — Board of Conservators. 

The scientific development of the most delightful of all 
sports — namely, fly fishing for trout — has produced a 
corresponding advancement in the breeding of these 
beautiful and sporting fish, and no book on trout fishing 
would be complete without a reference to fish culture. 
Pisciculture as an occupation, if wisely and scientifically 
pursued, will not only create a fascinating and absorbing 
interest for the one who takes it up, but it should, under 
favourable circumstances, become a remunerative and sound 
commercial business. Although dating back to the early 
Egyptian dynasties, fish culture received its first great 
impetus in the middle of the eighteenth century, when the 
possibility of artificially fecundating the ova of fish was 
discovered by one Stephen Ludwig Jacobi, of Hohenhausen, 
in Westphalia. It was not, however, until 1837 that fish 
culture was inaugurated in Britain by a Mr. John Shaw, 
who fecundated the ova of salmon and reared the young 
fish. 

Trout farms have become numerous in England, and I 
wish to impress on the student the advisability of not only 
reading and studying the literature of trout breeding, but 
also, by personal visits to any trout-rearing establishment 

97 



98 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

in his vicinity, gaining a practical knowledge of the fish 
which he will in the future have to encounter. 

Consideration when Breeding 

It is of the utmost importance to secure strong and 
healthily reared yearlings and two-year-old fish for all 
streams, lakes, and ponds which are being restocked, 
and the more nearly the conditions in which the fry, the 
yearlings, and the two-year-old fish are reared, approach 
those of nature, the better wUl the results be. Mr. Living- 
stone Stone, a Fish Commissioner of the United States of 
America,* guided by his own experience and that of every 
trout-breeding establishment with which he had, either 
as manager or commissioner, been brought into contact, 
is strongly opposed to risking breeding ponds in the channel 
of any stream or river, and advises the artificial construction 
of ponds, fed by artificial races. These ponds, he thinks, 
should be small and compact, lined with wood, and freed 
from any danger of floods, etc. ; and he recommends the 
use of water plants as affording shelter and food for the 
trout. 

These ideas, sound as they undoubtedly are when the 
dangers above enumerated are considered, have been 
followed more or less by English pisciculturists, and 
the logical consequence of these artificial surroundings 
has been a loss of the many natural advantages of the 
other method — that is, of having trout pounds situated 
in bye-channels of recognised trout streams. 

The want of the natural food carried by a good trout 
stream, and the want of the plentiful supply of fresh 
running river water, the reliance on artificial food, the 
vicinity of the keepers, the feeble current, etc., all tell 

* Author of " Domesticated Trout," a book full of information and interest 
to all fishemien, published by The Fishing Gazette, Ltd., 19, Adam St., 
Adelphi, W.C. 



PISCICULTURE AND NATURAL HISTORY 99 

against the trout reared under such conditions. For one 
thing, I am confident that trout reared under these con- 
ditions and accustomed to be hand fed, do not, when they 
are taken to stock other waters, rise to the fly as freely as 
they would had they been accustomed to depend more on 
natural food during their early life. 

For another thing, the trout do not grow so quickly, 
and again, they are not accustomed to the natural food 
on which they will have to live when they are liberated. 
The best food for trout, as long as a plentiful supply is 
available, is undoubtedly water insect life in its varying 
stages. Small fish, such as minnows, gudgeon, etc., are 
the next best food — although trout, when fed on this latter 
class of food, frequently develop cannibalistic tendencies — 
while probably the food least beneficial, in an all-round 
sense, is the animal food on which hand-fed trout have 
frequently to depend. 

The effort which is demanded from the alevin in order to 
resist the natural movement of the running water creates 
a more developed and more powerful fish. 

Taking the stock fish of the ordinary trout-breeding 
establishment, the length of time which it takes them to 
recover from their breeding operations is the greater owing 
to this artificial and restricted flow of water. Fungus is not 
so easily shaken off, neither are the wounds and abrasions 
of the breeding-time so quickly healed. It may be accepted 
as a fact that trout should have plenty of water, plenty of 
space, and plenty of food, and the more natural the con- 
ditions of these three factors the better the results in trout 
breeding. 

To those, therefore, who may be inclined to devote 
their attention to trout breeding, I would strongly 
recommend the adoption of breeding pounds situated, 
when possible and where safe, directly in the by-paths 



100 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

of some portion of the best trout stream available. As an 
instance in point, I can refer to the Itchen Trout Breeding 
Establishment, in Hampshire, the breeding pounds of 
which are directly in the flow of the Itchen River at Lower 
Chilland, Itchen Abbas. 

With the exception of the hatcheries themselves, in which 
spring water is used, all the troughs, boxes, pounds, etc., 
are directly treated to a plentiful supply of river water ; 
the fry — i.e., the young trout — immediately after passing 
out of the alevin or yoke-sac period are brought up directly 
in the life-bearing and cool waters of the Itchen, and the 
consequence is that, both as yearlings, as two-year-old fish 
and onwards, the size and healthiness of all the trout are 
phenomenal. 

The Description of a Trout Fishery 

In order to illustrate the natural conditions of these 
remarkable breeding pounds, I have shown my readers 
in Plate XI., a portion of these pounds as they occur in 
the bed of the stream looking up stream. 

This Plate shows the upper pound in which the stock 
fish (from three to five pounds) are kept. The river 
is here screened off and so controlled by hatches that the 
entire flow of the River Itchen (here a considerable stream) 
can be poured through the stock pounds. The surplus 
current of the river runs over a weir to the right, and while 
the screens placed across so rapid a river as the Itchen 
require careful, and during weed cutting operations constant 
attention, the advantages to the fish of having the natural 
flow of the river water is great. The keepers are shown as 
standing on the lower screens of the upper pounds, and 
immediately above the upper end of the pound for two years 
old fish, which extends for 200 yards down stream. 

Below this is the home stretch devoted to eight-inch 



PISCICULTURE AND NATURAL HISTORY 101 

fish. At the lower end, near the hatcheries, the river is 
divided into three other pounds, into which the stock fish 
are drafted during the breeding season, and others in which 
certain drafts of fish are kept prior to being dispatched to 
their final destination in some other water. 

On the lower side of the home pound and between it and 
the main river, are situated innumerable small canals, 
carefully screened, into which the river water is directed, 
and in these the varying classes of fry of the brown and 
rainbow trout are reared. It is, of course, in these lower 
breeding ditches that there is the problematical danger 
of flooding, but floods are practically unknown in this 
portion of the Itchen, owing to the rapid flow of its waters 
and the vicinity of its source. 

The Itchen as a Trout Stream. 
The happy reminiscences associated with this delightful 
pastime, as well as the sporting character of this portion of 
the Itchen, will be realized by the following letter written 
to me by the former owner of this fishing. 

" February 26th, 1912. 
" Dear Shaw, 

" Your handwriting reminds me of what, alas ! 
are now ' old times ' — of times that for me can never 
return now, for my rod is laid aside for good, and all 
the fishing I now do is in dreams. 

" I recall the first day on which you fished my 
water — it seems to me but yesterday — though more 
years have passed than I like to think of since that 
hot summer day, when I met you at the station and 
hastened, as we walked across the fields, to assure you 
that sport could be but small on so bright a day, and 
with such low and bright water as we then had. 
How well I remember your confident rejoinder 
that you would catch some fish notwithstanding 



102 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

the drawbacks of the day, and your going on to ask 
what should be done with the fish you caught — did 
I want them, or should they be returned to the water ? 
etc., and my response that, personally, I had always 
found it safer to catch the fish before disposing of 
them. Then when at the river side, do you remember 
how you began catching fish almost immediately, 
and kept on doing so during the remainder of the 
afternoon ? and, if I remember rightly, your total 
mounted up to some forty-five (or forty-seven, was 
it?)* 

" How clearly I recall the lovely clear running 
stream, and your figure on the water. I had many 
anglers then, but do not remember anyone who came 
near to that record day of yours, and it ever comes 
first to my memory when I think of my fishing days. 
Certainly, though living on the water, I never came 
near such figures myself, and should not think many 
better records existed on the Itchen. 
" Sincerely yours, 

" G. R. Bryant." 

Perhaps I may be forgiven for putting in so eulogistic 
a reference to myself, but I am certain that to the majority 
of my readers it may recall the delights of similar happy 
days, and in any case it tends to show how the pleasant 
memories of such times linger in the minds of fishermen 
even when they are at last compelled to lay down their 
rod and creel. 

A river, then, which can support such a wonderful 
number of wild fish is eminently suited for trout rearing, 
and the trout which are reared at Lower Chilland breeding 
pounds fully establish the advantages which I claim for 
such a method. There are probably not many rivers in 

* My friend is correct as to the number of the fish ; all but nine of these fish 
were returned to the river or placed in the stock pounds. The keeper's estimate 
of the weight of the fish was that they averaged i^ lbs. 



PISCICULTURE AND NATURAL HISTORY 103 

England so favourably situated in every way to produce 
such happy results, but where such exist this system is 
well worthy of trial. 

The Relative Value of Food Stuffs for Trout 

The relative value to trout of the best varieties of the 

different food stuffs may be roughly estimated as follows. 

If fed on : — Increase in weight. 

Water insects in their larval or flying condition . . . . ioo% 

Meat 50% 

Fish 38% 

Cereal or bread stuff .. .. •• •• •• •• 12% 

There also appears to be a distinction, attendant on their 
food, in the habits of the young trout, the insect eaters being, 
as a rule, more active and better shaped. It seems, 
however, that the large size to which New Zealand trout 
attain is largely due to the presence of a very great quantity 
of small silver-hued fish, locally called Whitebait. 

Some idea of the size of the fish in the Lower Chilland 
Hatcheries may be gathered from the fact that the two-year- 
old fish, ready for delivery in January, average nine inches, 
but that a certain number of two-year-old fish attain twelve 
inches in length in April of the same year. The fish in the 
Lower Chilland Hatcheries are largely bred from ova taken 
from the wild fish of the Itchen. 

Variations in the temperature of the air and water 
exercise a most important influence on aquatic life. 

The relative increase in the temperature of water assists 
and quickens the incubation of all sub-aqueous eggs, and 
hastens the metamorphosis of all insect life. 

Under favourable circumstances the rapid growth of a 
trout is extraordinary. Trout from the upper waters of the 
Dart, where natural food is scarce, and the fish in conse- 
quence are small, quickly grow to a very large size when 



104 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

placed in the more productive waters of ponds and reservoirs. 
Trout will feed better in fairly temperate weather than when 
it is very cold, and a rise in temperature after a cold spell 
is productive of good sport, due to the improved appetite 
of the fish, to the greater activity of insect life, and some- 
times to their quick recovery after spawning. Trout lose 
their desire for food as the spawning time approaches, and 
though they commence feeding after it is over, they do not 
regain their full feeding powers until the warm spring 
weather is reached. 

Trout and the Close Season 

I am inclined to think that to the majority of trout 
fishermen the natural history of the Salmonidae is as a 
sealed book. Fishing to them is but a pastime to which 
the most delightful hours of their outdoor life are devoted, 
and save during the moments which are spent in the actual 
pursuit of this sport their interest in these game fish seems 
to disappear. 

The life of the trout during the close season, for instance, 
is practically unknown to the average fisherman, and 
while the necessity of observing such a period is recognized, 
the wisdom of the limits imposed by the various fishing 
associations is but seldom considered, and receives but a 
small proportion of the criticism which is deserved by so 
momentous a subject. 

Are trout sufficiently protected by the present limits of 
the close season ? 

In order to strengthen my own impressions in this matter 
and to avoid the possibility of mistake, I wrote in 1906 to the 
managers of several breeding establishments, to gentlemen 
interested in trout breeding, and to those in charge of various 
trout fisheries, asking them to give me their experience as 
to the period which covers the loss of appetite prior to 



PISCICULTURE AND NATURAL HISTORY 105 

spawning, the dates on which the trout in their immediate 
neighbourhood commence and cease to spawn, and the length 
of the period taken by trout to recover from their spawning 
operations. 

Times of Spawning 

From the information which was then placed at my 
disposal, and which has since been confirmed by my own 
experience, it may be taken as certain that the general 
limit of the period during which wild and domesticated trout 
spawn is from October 15th to the end of January, although 
trout are known to spawn as late as the middle of February. 
The average period during which most trout spawn, 
however, may be accepted as occurring between October 25th 
and January 12th, the temperature of the weather and the 
amount of water in the rivers considerably affecting even 
this early or late spawning season. Trout in their natural 
condition suffer a loss of appetite commencing from eight to 
three weeks prior to spawning, this loss of appetite depending 
to a considerable extent on their condition towards the end 
of the fishing season. If the trout have experienced a warm 
summer, with plenty of food in the shape of insect life, their 
condition early in the autumn will be good, and a more 
extended period of fasting may be expected prior to 
spawning. In some cases they begin to feed immediately 
after spawning, and, if the circumstances are favourable, 
will be clean and in good condition from three to four 
weeks afterwards. If, however, the conditions are unfavour- 
able, they may not commence to feed for several days after 
spawning has ceased, and their complete recovery will be 
relatively delayed if the weather be unfavourable. 

The importance of a careful consideration of the above 
facts when deciding the limits of the close time will be 
better appreciated when it is thoroughly understood that. 



106 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

from the time the fish begin to lose their appetite prior to 
spawning until they have entirely recovered their condition 
after spawning, they are unclean and not fit for human 
food. 

Those fish that do happen to feed as their spawning 
operations approach — and this may happen during the open 
season — appear to suffer at times from a disease of the 
intestines, and are afflicted with worms. Strict laws 
should therefore be made and enforced in order to prevent 
the possibility of trout being captured and destroyed when 
near spawning time, or when their condition renders them 
unfit for human food. 

Close Season too Short 

It is the opinion of many fishermen that trout fishing 
opens in some districts at too early and closes at too late 
a date. The fisherman whose experience has extended over 
many districts, and who has fished early and late in the 
season, will recall the frequent capture of Ul-conditioned or 
dirty fish at the beginning and towards the close of the 
different seasons. These are fish which have begun to feel 
the influence of, or which have not recovered from, the 
spawning season. Such fish should, of course, in all cases 
be returned to the water, but it would be wiser that the 
chances of killing or injuring these fish should in no case be 
incurred. 

Meteorological conditions affect the time of spawning, 
and also affect the length of the period which it takes a 
trout to recover after the spawning operations are over. 
This is especially so in the wild fish. Even in the same 
districts spawning conditions vary very considerably ; not 
only the temperature of the atmosphere, but the tempera- 
ture of the water in two neighbouring streams, will produce 
a relatively early or later spawning season, as the case may 



PISCICULTURE AND NATURAL HISTORY 107 

be. The locality of the rise of each river should be 
considered, as well as the rise of each of its tributaries. 
The snowfall and the meteorological circumstances of each 
season should be carefully considered twice a year, and any 
hard-and-fast period selected for the opening and closing of 
the trout-fishing season should therefore be modified by the 
peculiar circumstances of each river and each season. 
Trout fishing can be legally pursued between February ist 
and October 2nd, except in those districts in which the con- 
servators have wisely extended the length of the close season. 
It is unnatural, foolish, and unsportsmanlike, to permit 
fishing during periods in which ill-conditioned fish can be 
caught ; but at the present time many rivers are deprived 
every season of a considerable quantity of ova, and suffer the 
loss of many ill-conditioned fish owing to an insufficiently 
extended close time. For these reasons alone it is advis- 
able that the close season in many districts should be still 
further extended. Many of the March fish caught in the 
Welsh rivers during a hard spring, for instance, are as unfit 
for human food as is the salmon-kelt. The fish on the first 
warm day are ravenous, and at such times they will take 
any bait, no matter how unskilfully it may be offered to 
them. As a natural consequence, the rivers lose many of 
their best fish before the latter are in a condition either 
to discriminate as to the choice of their food, or to have a 
sporting chance of successfully fighting for their lives, to say 
nothing of their being in such cases quite unfit for food. 

The Board of Conservators 

The opening of the trout-fishing season is regulated 
by the fishery conservators, and if the gentlemen controlling 
these associations could only be induced, in the interests 
of the rivers they control, to consider the causes which lead 
to the depopulated condition of certain rivers in June and 



108 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

July, it is probable they would defer the opening day from 
the middle of February to the middle of March, or even 
later. I have noticed that local fishermen on many Welsh 
streams seem to regard their legitimate fishing as over by 
the end of May, and judging by the big creels which they are 
able to obtain in February, March, and April it is little 
wonder that they leave the rivers and the few remaining 
trout during the summer months to the anxious attention of 
their visitors, whose dry fly but too frequently falls on 
waters from which nearly every trout of takable size has 
disappeared. It must be evident that with late spawning 
fish and a very hard January, February, and March, it is 
a mistake to permit trout fishing to open in February, or 
indeed until the great majority of fish in each particular 
river have recovered their condition. Rivers in which the 
trout spawn late are said to produce the best results, as the 
alevin emerges into the world under more favourable con- 
ditions so far as temperature and weather are concerned ; 
but in each district, whether it be relatively early or relatively 
late in its spawning, contradictory as it may seem, the early 
spawners produce the best results. 



CHAPTER VII 

WET FLY FISHING, SPINNING, KNOTS, WEEDS, AND 
GENERAL INFORMATION 

Wet fly fishing up-stream — Striking — Arrangement of flies on cast 
— Spinning during the summer months — ^The single-handed 
spinning rod and reel — Casting from the reel — Ambidexterity — 
Knots — Sex of trout — Weeds — Fungus — Selection of flies when 
by the waterside — The cap as a fly holder — Dry fly fishing with 
three flies — Moths — ^The broken rod — Whipping a broken rod 
— Bulging trout — Keeping the line clear — Changing the fly after 
dark. 

Wet Fly Fishing Up-Stream 
Wading is almost imperative in open water when wet 
fly fishing up stream, and though this style of fishing may, 
during the earlier and colder months of the year, be more 
productive than dry fly fishing, it is not every one who cares 
to invite rheumatism or endure the cold inseparable from 
wading during March and April. 

When fishing up-stream with the wet fly, the line, after 
the flies have touched the water, should be kept straight. 
The tail flies should not as a rule sink more than a few 
inches below the surface, the first dropper only an inch 
or so, and the upper dropper should skim the water. The 
cast being made, the fisherman should take in the slack as the 
flies come back with the stream, and a slight jigging motion 
may be imparted to them. The rise of the fish is almost 
invariably seen, and success depends, therefore, on four 
things — the choice of flies, the fisherman's ability to throw 
a line, his quickness in striking, and his knowledge of a 
fishing stream. This method of wet fly fishing is not only 

109 



110 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

highly successful, but far more interesting than fishing 
down-stream. Wading is almost a sine qua non, as the 
bank is too conspicuous a place for the angler ; and this is 
the drawback of wet fly fishing up-stream, for the line must 
as a rule be fished short, and a fisherman, having to use 
a short line, must of necessity be closer to his fish than in 
dry fly fishing. The greater the stream lore of the fisherman, 
other things being equal, the greater will be his success. 
Rising fish will naturally induce special attention. 

Wet fly fishing up-stream possesses many of the charms of 
dry fly fishing, and as a sport it comes next to it in scientific 
interest and pleasure. The object of jigging the wet fly 
when in the water is to imitate the action of the nymph 
or pupae when swimming; the object of letting it float 
steadily down with the current being to imitate the drowned 
sub-imago. Hence, when drowned sub-imago are not 
present, and the pupse are being taken by the trout (any 
captured trout will readily solve this point), a series of little 
movements should be given to the drifting flies by tiny jerks 
of the point of your rod. After a thunderstorm, when 
numbers of drowned sub-imago are coming down, the pupae 
are not as a rule moving, and it is better to allow the fly to 
drift down with the current. 

Striking 

In wet fly fishing up-stream the fly at which the fish rises is 
near the surface. The motion of the fish, or perhaps the 
fish itself, can be seen, and the strike may therefore be made 
either at the time the rise is seen or the touch is felt. When, 
however, the fly is well below the surface, as in wet fly fishing 
down-stream, the first intimation the fisherman gets that 
a trout has taken one of his flies is the pluck or pull at his 
fly. In most cases this pluck in itself is quite sufficient to 
hook the fish, and therefore, in so many as eight cases out of 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. Ill 

ten, the hooking of a fish with a wet fly down-stream cannot 
be claimed as being due to any skill or quickness in striking ; 
while in at least eight cases out of ten the fish hooked with 
a dry fly or wet fly up-stream may be fairly claimed by the 
angler as due to his skill in striking. An immediate strike 
when the fly is taken by the fish below the surface of the 
water is seldom advisable ; and equally it is true that an 
immediate strike is in nearly every case advisable if the 
fly be taken when floating on the surface. 

Arrangement of Flies on Cast 

When two, three or more flies are being used on a cast, 
the question as to the best distance which should separate 
them is an important one. 

With a short cast it is generally advisable to use only 
two flies. 

In wet fly fishing down-stream a long gut cast should be 
employed, as more space can be allowed between each fly 
than when using a short cast. 

If the flies which are being used are of a large pattern, 
plenty of room should be allowed between each one, but this 
space can be reduced as the cast becomes finer and the flies 
smaller. In discoloured water, again, a shorter distance 
between each fly may be arranged even when using a fairly 
large pattern of fly. In selecting the tail fly, the one most 
likely to attract the fish should be used, and the droppers, 
as the other flies are called, should be attached to the cast 
by a length of gut not more than three inches from the cast 
to the fly. Single-winged flies should be used, with a fairly 
stiff hackle. I think one gold-ribbed fly should always be 
used on a cast. Experience acquired on any particular 
stream, tempered by the size of the fly and the condition of 
the water, will be the best guide as to the arrangement of 
your wet fly cast. 



112 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Spinning for Trout in the Summer Months 

The scientific improvements which have been made in 
spinning reels, rods, lines and lures, are rapidly bringing 
that method of fishing more and more into popular favour. 

Spinning for trout, however, has not advanced so 
rapidly as spinning for salmon, and the reason is not far 
to seek. It lies in the fact that dry fly fishing for trout, 
comparing it with fly fishing for salmon, is infinitely more 
interesting. 

As certain of our rivers and streams hold trout whose 
size renders their presence undesirable — first, because their 
food consists principally of members of their own species, 
and secondly, because it does not consist of the flying 
varieties of water insects — a few words on that by no means 
easy method of angling, viz., spinning for trout in the summer 
months, may be welcome to my readers. 

I am not for the moment alluding to spinning for trout 
during the colder months of the year. There is a great and 
distinctive difference between the man who uses a minnow 
in the discoloured water of the early spring months, and who 
allows the tumble and rush of the river in which his lure is 
cast to do the work for him, and the man who delights in 
the difficulty of catching his trout in the dead, low, clear 
water of the summer time. The greater difficulty and 
the more interest must centre in spinning during the summer, 
and when the lure is used in clear water, in perhaps an 
almost empty stream and in the blazing sun. The lure 
may be used either in searching the shallows of our smaller 
streams, or thrown far out beyond the reach of the dry fly 
man and into the rapid runs and glides of our larger rivers ; 
and whether it is the natural minnow with tackle consisting 
of at most two triangles, a lip hook, and the finest of traces, 
which is extended by the rod from a slack line held in the 
hand of the fisherman, or an artificial spinning minnow, 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 113 

thrown from the latest and most improved form of spinning 
reel — the sport is most enjoyable. 

I will first of all discuss the method of upstream fishing 
in low, clear water, with a natural minnow and the lightest 
of tackle. 

The Single-handed Spinning Rod and Reel 

The rod to be used when spinning, whether a single or 
double-handed one, should have an action similar to a very- 
stiff fly rod, but should be furnished with fewer and larger 
line rings. 

The reel to be used will depend on the manner of casting. 
If casting from the hand, an ordinary fly reel is perfectly 
suitable, but if casting from the reel, some form of Nottingham 
reel will be necessary. 

The line should be silk, very carefully dressed, or — which 
I prefer — an undressed silk line, as fine as is consistent with 
the work for which it is required. 

The trace should be from one to one and a half 
yards in length, and furnished with at least two double 
swivels. 

Spinning flights are supplied in many different patterns, 
and it is therefore impracticable to describe them, but in 
my opinion the fewer hooks the better. When the natural 
minnow is used, it should be small, not more than two 
inches in length, and as bright and fresh as is obtain- 
able. 

The method of spinning from the hand is as follows : — 
The minnow should be held in the left hand, and should not 
reach below the reel when the rod is upright. A certain 
amount of slack line should be drawn off the reel — say a 
couple of yards — and should be held by the middle finger 
of the right hand against the handle — that is when the right 
hand is holding the rod. The rod should then be raised 



114 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

from the horizontal position and switched outward and 
upward, and at the same time the left hand should relinquish 
the lure, which will swing outward, and as it reaches the 
end of its swing the slack line can be released by relaxing 
the pressure of the middle finger of the right hand. As 
the bait shoots forward to its destination the rod should 
be lowered. 

The motion imparted to the lure by the movement of the 
rod will give it enough impetus to draw the slack line through 
the rings ; in other words, the weight of the lure will, by 
the upward swing of the rod, be great enough to shoot the 
slack line which has been retained by the right middle 
finger. 

The lure should be cast up-stream with as light and 
delicate an action as possible, and directly the bait has 
entered the water it should be drawn in again by the left 
hand, and brought across or down stream, every place 
likely to harbour a trout being carefully searched. The 
lure should be allowed to sink as deeply as possible without 
actually touching the bottom. 

Having once become capable of casting delicately with 
this short length of line — which, however, is generally 
sufficient when wading and fishing up-stream — you can, in 
order to command a larger area of water, gradually learn 
to draw off more slack line, holding it in three or four coils 
over the different fingers of the left hand. 

Lead may have to be used for the purpose of sinking the 
bait, but the smaller the quantity used the better. The 
tackle should be always of the very finest character. 

Casting from the Reel 

Casting from the reel necessitates a steady side swing of 
the rod, but more lead will have to be used with the lure 
than when casting with the slack line, as inertia and the 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 115 

frictional resistance of the drum on its spindle will have to 
be overcome.* 

In casting from the reel the bait is not held in the left 
hand, but suspended about three or four feet below the top 
ring, the rod being brought steadily back and sideways, 
and the forward cast made with a steady switching action 
from the elbow round sideways and forward. As the bait 
attains centrifugal speed the drum of the reel is allowed to 
rotate freely. 

With the old-fashioned Nottingham reel the drum is 
prevented from revolving by one of the fingers of the left 
hand, and is released at the required moment ; the finger 
again acquiring a slightly checking control in order to 
prevent over running as the bait flies forward to its destina- 
tion, and it eventually stops the rotating action of the 
drum as the lure touches the water. 

The minnow, whether artificial or natural, is then worked 
through the water, being again allowed to sink as deeply as 
is safe, the line being reeled up in order to keep the lure off 
the bottom and to give it its necessary speed through the 
water, the rod being kept well down and assisting the reel 
in this object. 

This manner of casting is of course the better, as the fish, 
when hooked, is at once in play from the reel instead of 
from loose coils, but it is more difficult to learn owing to the 
tendency of the reel to over-run. It is also more difficult 
to throw accurately in the desired direction. 

When fishing with any variation of the spinning reel, 
the lure can be cast much further — either up-stream, across 
stream, or down stream — and worked in the best possible 
manner to secure the attention of the fish. 



* It is right that mention should be made here of the excellent principle 
embodied in the lUingworth reel, which is thoroughly suitable to this method 
of spinning. 



116 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

When angling for large fish the more slowly and the more 
directly the bait can be brought to their notice the better. 

Natural minnows, artificial minnows, and spoon baits 
can be used for this method of spinning. 

The advantages of spinning across and down stream are 
these : a much slower method can be adopted, and the 
pressure of the down-stream current will assist the spinning 
of the spoon, the minnow, etc. 

I am dealing now almost exclusively with the spinning 
during fine weather, and in clear water, and therefore I 
wish again to impress on the fisherman the necessity of 
using as light a lure and lead as possible. Many artificial 
lures, such as that excellent one — the Reflet Minnow,* 
patented by Messrs. Wyers Freres — are sufficiently heavy 
in themselves. 

If it be true that the great majority of fishermen consider 
that the present method of arming the natural or arti- 
ficial minnow with a number of triangle hooks is prejudicial 
to the best interests of sport, then I think they would 
welcome laws which prohibited the use of more than one 
hook to each lure, or at least more than one triangle to each 
lure. Quite apart from the fact that a number of triangles 
lead to the lure being repeatedly caught in the weeds, 
snags, etc., etc., the fish which are caught are very frequently 
unable to make a fight for their lives, both their upper 
and their lower jaws being firmly locked together by these 
triangles, and when they succeed in escaping they are so 
badly mutilated that they cannot possibly recover. 

I was watching a fisherman spinning on the Wye a little 
time ago, and he got into a good sized fish. He brought the 
fish nearly up to his landing net when it got away, and on 
one of the triangles of the lure we found the eye of the 
fish, which happened to be a chub. Evidently the chub had 

* Tliis can be obtained from Messrs. G. Little and Co., 63, Hajanarket, S.W. 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 117 

been hooked in the mouth by one of the upper triangles, 
and the tail triangle must have swung over and caught its 
eye. 

Ambidexterity in Casting a Fly 

The student should be able to use either hand when 
manipulating his rod. There is fortunately no difficulty 
in doing this when once the mental process of casting is 
acquired. Many a good rising fish and many a difficult 
but likely spot in the stream may be reached by him alone 
who can cast with either hand. 

There is always the danger of a disabled right or left 
hand or arm, and even when both arms are sound there 
are times when a change of hand is not only pleasant 
but necessary. I remember in 1897, while fishing on the 
Wutach, getting an acute attack of fisherman's elbow in 
my right arm, and for several days at a time the ability 
to use my left hand in casting enabled me to enjoy my sport 
with comfort and pleasure, when to use my right hand gave 
me considerable pain. 

Knots used in Trout Fishing 
Hardly a book on fishing has been written which has not 
dealt with the subject of the knots which are used by 
fishermen when fastening the line to the casts, fastening 
two parts of a broken cast together, attaching a dropper to 
the cast or the gut to the hook. It is, however, desirable, 
while treating this subject fully, to do so in as simple a 
manner as possible. 

The overhand knot is the easiest of all knots (see 
Diag. 4, Fig. 3) and yet it is one on which practically all 
other knots are based. The best method, in my opinion, 
and the one I recommend for attaching an end of gut to 
an eyed hook (see Fig. 2) is to pass the end of the gut 



118 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



through the eye of the fly, and then to form an overhand 
knot round the unthreaded portion of the gut, so that 
the end lies alongside and pointing up the cast, away from 
the hook (see Diagram 4, Fig. 2, and Diagram 5, Fig. 4). 
The overhand knot thus made, is drawn tight and is then 
pulled down towards the eye of the fly, and its end cut off, 
(see Fig, 2, Diagram 4). 

This forms the safest knot which can be used on small 
flies, and is the one which I have used and advocated for 




Fig. I. 




Fig. 2. 



Fig. 3- 



Diagram 4. 
Fig. I. — Method of attaching dropper to line. 
Fig. 2. — Overhand knot drawn taut on the eye of hook. 
Fig. 3. — Overhand knot loose. 



many years to all whom I have coached. In the patent 
fibres which are now being sold in place of gut this overhand 
knot should be made with two instead of one turn 
to its end. This fibre appears to me to possess many 
advantages, but one of its disadvantages is that when 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 



119 



wetted it becomes very soapy, and unless some precautions 
are taken the knots made in it will slip. 

There is a knot which is known to the sailor as the 
half-hitch, which is shown in Diagram 5, Fig. 6. If this 
half-hitch is slipped down over the eye of the fly, and drawn 
taut, the knot shown in Diagram 5, Fig. 7, results. If this 
knot is used with small hooks, or ones in which the wings 
are close to the eye, it is a difficult matter to avoid injuring 
the wings of the fly. It will be seen by Diagram 5, Fig. 7, 





Hg. 5 



B^.4:. 





ri^.7. 



Fi^. 6. 



Diagram 5. 
Fig. 4. — Overhand knot tied round unthreaded part of cast. 
Fig. 5. — The same slipped over eye and drawn taut, forming 

the sheet bend. 
Fig. 6.— The half-hitch. 
Fig. 7. — The half -hitch after it is slipped over eye and drawn 

taut. 

that the end of the line will lie down close alongside the body 
of the fly. The disadvantages of this knot, however, are, first, 
the difficulty of securing it to the hook without injuring the 
fly, and, secondly, that the fly cannot move independently 



120 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

of the gut to which it is attached, as it does in the knot which 
I recommend. If the eye of the fly should be made of gut, 
as the eye of a salmon fly frequently is, the overhand knot 
shown in Figure 3 can be slipped down while loose over 
the eye as shown in Figure 4, and drawn taut, the result of 
which is shown in Diagram 5, Fig 5, and is known to the 
saUorman as the " sheet bend." Where patent fibre is 
used with the gut eyed salmon hooks, a small knot should 
be made in the end of the line, which will prevent the fibre 
from drawing, or, in the case of gut, the end can be passed 
again round the shank of the hook and under the part which 
runs through the eye. This is called a double " sheet bend " 




Diagram 6. 
Showing a method of using the overhand knot for large flies. 



by the sailorman. This knot, in my opinion, is a fairly 
good one for the wet fly fisherman, but a bubble of air is 
frequently retained by the short end above the eye of 
the hook, which gives an unnatural appearance to the 
artificial fly. 

For hooks larger than No. 3 the overhand knot can 
be made round the threaded part of the gut, and not, 
as in Figure 4, round the unthreaded part. The knot 
is then drawn taut, and the end cut off short. The noose 
thus formed is drawn taut on the unthreaded part, and is 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 121 

then pulled down, so that the knot thus made slips down 
to the eye of the hook. 

If two ends have to be joined, one overhand knot is tied 
in one end, and the other part passed through this knot, and 
then tied in an overhand knot round the other part (see 
Diagram 7). Notice how the ends come out. All that 
remains to be done is to draw these two overhand knots 
taut on the piece of gut they enclose, and then draw the 
two knots together. This makes the neatest of all joins, 
but for additional security, and so that the end of the gut 
can be cut absolutely short, a double turn of the end can 
be made in each overhand knot before it is drawn taut. 

When attaching a dropper to a cast, the best way is to 
make a fairly large overhand knot in the short end of gut 




Diagram 7. 
Showing the method of joining the ends of two pieces of gut with 
overhand knots. 



attached to the fly, and to pass the fly through this knot, 
enclosing the cast in the loop thus formed. The overhand 
knot is then drawn taut, and the loop is then placed 
at the spot at which the dropper has to hang, the loop 
closed by pulling on the fly, and the end cut short off (see 
Diagram 4, Fig. 1). 

The best method of fastening your line to the end loop 
of the gut cast is to thread the end of the line through the 
eye, bringing it round both parts of the eye, and slipping 
it underneath its own part. This again gives the " sheet 
bend " (Diag. 5, Fig. 5). A small knot in the end of the line 



122 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



makes this " sheet bend " absolutely secure, and permits 
of an attachment which can be instantly released.* 

Sex in Trout 

The cock fish may generally be distinguished from the 
female during the spawning season by the fact that the 
adipose fin is more developed, thicker and stiffer than in the 
hen fish. 

During the open season the reader may probably find 
it difficult to distinguish between the sexes of the trout. 
As before stated, it is claimed that the cock fish has a longer 
and stouter adipose fin ; there is a bluntness about the nose 
and head of a male fish, although this bluntness is lost as the 
spawning season approaches. At this time the colour 
becomes more vivid on the sides ; and the belly of the fish, 
both before and behind the ventral fin, has a decidedly 
square appearance in the cock fish. The hen fish at this 
time loses some of her colour, and grows big with spawn, 
but does not acquire the squareness in the underneath part 
of its body peculiar to the other sex. 

The Appearance of Trout 
The colour of the trout changes rapidly in relation to its 
surroundings. If a dark trout be taken from under a bridge 
or from some deep shady portion of the river, and placed 
in a shallow enclosure with light-coloured gravel at the 
bottom, he will, before many hours have elapsed, have 
changed to a much lighter colour. A trout which inhabits 
a river one side of which is deep, over-shadowed, and with a 
dark bottom, will when on that side of the river be possessed 
of a dark colour ; but if he should during certain hours of 
the day cross the river and lie on the opposite side in sun- 
light, on a shallow, gravelly bed, he will rapidly become 
lighter. 

* For a description of other knots see Chapter XVI. 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 123 

Weeds 

It may well be asked ! If these weeds are so dangerous 
and so often rob the fisherman of his fish, why are they left 
in the river ? 

There are several considerations which have to be taken 
into account with reference to the water plants or weeds in a 
trout stream. The owner has to consider the necessity of 
keeping open his water way and preventing these rapid- 
growing plants from choking up the channel of his stream, a 
fault which would lead to the flooding of the adjacent 
property, damage to the river-banks, and the probable loss 
of many good fish. 

On the other hand, he has to remember that these 
weeds, when kept within certain bounds, are most beneficial 
to trout life. They keep down the temperature of the water 
and are a refuge to the trout, not only from mankind, but 
from the otter, the heron, and other enemies ; they provide 
a never-failing supply of natural food, as well as acting as 
filters and natural purifiers of the waters in which they exist. 
The Ephemeridae and other water insects are always plentiful 
in weedy rivers. The fresh-water shrimp, one of the prin- 
cipal foods of the trout, abounds and multiplies amid the 
shelterof the weeds. Several trout-breeding establishments 
make a regular business not only of supplying fly larvae, 
fresh-water shrimps, and other water insect life, but of 
cultivating and supplying the best weeds and water bushes 
for trout streams. Riparian owners, therefore, who wish 
to afford shelter or create a natural food-supply for their 
fish would do well to remember this fact. 

The Riparian owner must also take into consideration the 
valuable effect which the water plants have in checking 
the down-stream flow of water in the dry seasons, and 
by this natural damming action keeping a plentiful supply 
of water in streams which would otherwise soon run very 



124 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

low (see Plate XII.). The photograph shown in this plate 
was taken on the Axe, Devonshire, and the influence of the 
weeds on this stream can be at once realized, both as 
regards the plentiful supply of insect life and as damming 
up and filtering the water of the river. 

Weed-cutting and dredging should always, therefore, 
for the above reasons, be restricted within reasonable limits, 
and carried out at times most convenient to other fishermen. 
Nearly every owner of trout water has suffered from the 
ills of floating weeds, and this experience generally leads 
to the kindly consideration of those who may be fishing in 
the water below them. The weeds which encourage the 
growth of the water shrimp — perhaps the most valuable 
natural food for trout — are the Ranunculus and Water 
Celery. 

Fungus on Grown Fish 

A trout may be caught at times suffering from a fungus 
or a growth on the head, shoulder, or other part of the body. 
The student will be well advised, after netting such a speci- 
men, to destroy it at once, taking care not to return it to 
the water or place it among his clean fish. Fungus can at 
times be cured by dipping the fish in a strong solution of 
salt. 

It is the salt in the sea water which effectually eradicates 
the germs from the wounds which a salmon receives during 
a futile effort to reach the spawning ground, and by doing 
so makes practically certain theultimatecureof such wounds. 
Ordinary fungus is a growth which attaches itself to any 
bare spot on the trout's skin, caused by a wound or the 
accidental loss of slime. The natural mucus on a trout 
protects the skin from fungus in exactly the same manner 
that Peacock's Paint protects the bottoms of iron ships from 
barnacles, etc. The fungus is in itself harmless, but it 



PLATE XII. 




I Fhutu by the A uihor. 



A Natural Dam of Weeds. 

AT THE MEETING OF TWO CHANNELS OF THE AXE. SEATON JUNCTION. 



Copyright.'] 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 125 

sometimes contains worm-like parasites of microscopic 
character. These attach themselves to a portion of the 
fungus near the skin of the trout, and are continually 
eating into the tissue of the fish. The mouths of these 
worms are armed with tentacles, with which they can 
adhere to any portion of the trout's skin which may be 
unprotected by slime.* 

If the worms be killed by salt solution, the fungus then 
disappears. If, however, any portion of the living and 
malignant fungus be returned to the water, it will carry 
with it a percentage of these deadly and contagious worms ; 
hence the necessity of its destruction to insure the protec- 
tion of the healthy trout in the same stream. The bare 
places caused by the fry nibbling one another are an ever- 
present source of danger to these small fish. 

Hints as to the Selection of the Fly when by the 

Water-side 

So long as the fisherman has from eight to twelve of each 
of the flies which are likely to be on the water which he is 
going to fish, his only difficulty will then be the determina- 
tion of which fly to use. When he reaches the river, he 
should as soon as possible find out which fly is being 
taken. 

It is just here that the utility of a small, light, and collap- 
sible butterfly net must be again emphasized ; no article, 
after the rod, the line and flies, the reel and the fishing-net, 
is more important to the dry fly fisherman. It is always 
difficult, and often impossible, to catch the elusive winged 
insects which are flying or floating rapidly past without such 
a net. With a net, however, little or no time is lost, and 
fly after fly can be easily and quickly netted and examined 
and then compared with the artificial flies in the student's 

* See Black fish, page 43. 



126 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

fly-box, until he has finally determined on the correct fly 
to use. 

One of the difficulties which the beginner will experience 
is to determine the size of the flies he wants when ordering 
them from the makers. The new numbering of flies which 
commences from ooo, oo, o, i, 2, 3, 4, etc., are those commonly 
used. In order to facilitate matters, I have engraved these 
exact sizes in facsimile on the side of the fly fishing knife 
previously mentioned. When, therefore, a fly is caught 
by the brookside, if it be placed exactly over one of the 
engraved hooks, the student will see at once the size 
of the fly he has to order. By wiring the number and 
name of the fly to the maker who supplies him, thus : 

" Send me by first post one dozen Red Quill size o " 

he will be able to get them by first post. 

The Cap as a Fly-Holder 

A good place to keep the fly which you have just taken 
off your line is undoubtedly the cap. In this position the 
flies dry quickly, are secure, out of danger, and always very 
handy. The flies placed in the cap during the day can be 
sorted and replaced in your fly-book or fly-box when you 
get home. The only drawback to this plan is that in wet 
weather the hooks, if allowed to remain in the cap as they 
dry, are likely to rust. Flies in the cap are also apt to 
excite attention, and hints from friendly strangers that 
" Your hat, sir, is covered with feathers," etc., have been 
frequent. When I was coming home from fishing one 
day on the top of a tramcar, a fond mother kept her children 
quiet for some time by an entomological discussion as to the 
nature of the " tame " flies grouped on my fishing-cap, and 
a droll remark was made by a newspaper boy, who, when 
offering me an evening paper, said " Hexcuse me. Sir, but 
your 'at is hall hover hinsecks ! " 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 127 

Dry Fly Fishing with Three Flies 
Now we will suppose you have just arrived for the 
first time at a stream for a few days' fishing. It is an 
ordinary trout brook, and you may not have any one with 
you to suggest the correct fly with which to fish. 

Your Field or Fishing Gazette may have told you that 
Black Gnat, the Blue Quill, and Olive Quill are being 
taken on the water. But there are no flies visible, and the 
trout are not rising. How, then, are you going to determine 
the correct fly to use ? It is by no means a bad plan — 
although not usually adopted — in order to save time, to 
place one of these flies, say the Olive Quill, on the end of 
your cast ; then, three feet up the cast, with a very short 
end, attach the Blue Quill, and again, three feet further up, 
a Black Gnat. Oil the cast and each fly, and treat this cast 
of three flies as you would a single dry fly cast, and fish up- 
stream. I have often, by adopting this method and fishing 
the likely spots, discovered a fly which the fish will take, 
and by discarding the other two and fishing dry fly with the 
remaining one, have saved much time and caught fish which 
I should not otherwise have taken. 

Even when the fish are rising, it is often difiicult to find 
out the definite fly which they are taking, and when, for 
experimental purposes, you may, as above advised, be 
fishing with three dry flies and happen to catch a rising fish, 
examine the food in the upper part of its gullet. This can 
be done by a gentle upward pressure along the body towards 
the gills, which will express the latest taken food into 
the mouth. The chances are that the sub-imago form of 
some water insect will be found there, as well as the pupae 
of the same insect, and if the fly on which you have taken 
this fish does not secure you trout when it is fished as a 
single dry fly, try a specimen of the sub-imago found in the 
fish's gullet. 



128 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

There are many days, mostly in fine weather, with clear 
calm water, which require the floating fly to be in the most 
perfect condition possible, while on a few other days, and in 
perhaps rougher water, the more fluffy and knocked about 
the fly be, the more deadly it appears to become. 

When hesitating as to the size of any fly it is better to 
choose the larger size, even on such educated waters as the 
Itchen and the Test. 

But it must also be remembered that educated trout 
may easily be " put down " by a fly larger or smaller than 
the natural fly on which they are feeding. 

Moths and Otters 

Moths constitute a very real danger to the security 
of all artificial flies, and during the off season camphor 
should be freely used. 

" Otters is pisen whenever met." They are carnivorous, 
and those which inhabit or visit trout lakes and streams 
exact a toll from these waters, which is thorough and 
destructive. Otters, in any particular stream, may eat, 
and may even prefer, the frog and the eel to the trout. 
Evidence on this point is, however, very meagre and 
one-sided, but what about the stream which supports 
trout only ? Even with a partiality for partridge, I have 
known people in the close season content themselves with 
spring chicken. 

The Broken Rod 

The fisherman is likely at some time or other to fracture 
or spring the upper or middle joint of his fishing-rod, the 
handle of his fishing-net, etc. 

If he should happen to meet with this misfortune he 



WET FLY FISHING. ETC. 129 

can with very little loss of time and without difficulty repair 
the most serious fracture or injury. 

The best plan to adopt to meet such emergencies is to 
have in your creel a roll of quarter-inch adhesive plaster 
and a few strong quills. By splitting the quills and opening 
them out they can be used as splints, and with the adhesive 
plaster will effectually repair the broken rod. 

If the rod be a cane one, it will not be likely to break, 
but merely to spring, most often in two or three segments 
on one side. In such a case, place two quills on the weaker 
side of the rod and one on the other. These, combined with 
a good strong whipping of the plaster, will render your rod 
perfectly fit for use. If you care to make a neater job 
when you reach your fishing quarters at night, a little hot 
water will loosen the plaster, and you can then make a 
more perfect mend of the break, sufficient indeed to last 
until you see your rod-maker again. 

It may be necessary to place more than one layer of the 
quills on the rod, but as they fit closely together and are 
very light, they do not interfere with the pleasurable use of 
the rod. The quills can be softened by soaking them in 
hot water. 

If you have not broken a part of your own rod, others 
may not have been so lucky, and you can help them, and, 
as the revered father of Huck Finn said, " a good action 
ain't never forgot." 

The value of this method of splicing or fishing a rod is 
that it is usable directly the plaster whipping has been 
applied. 

Hints.— Whipping a Broken Rod 
When adhesive plaster is not obtainable the whipping 
should be made with strong waxed thread or silk, and 
finished as the whipping at the end of a rope is finished by 

10 



130 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

sailormen. The first few turns are made at the desired 
spot, laid evenly and firmly over the short end of the 
whipping material, and continued until sufficient turns of 
the thread have been laid on to cover the injured portion 
of the rod. The last three or four turns are then loosened 
freely, and the end of the line with which you have been 
working is passed under these, and up and out over the 
turns which have not been loosened. The loosened turns, 
beginning at the inside one, are then again drawn on taut, 
and the slack line is finally pulled through under them 
and the end cut off. The whipping thus finished securely 
is the most convenient method of neatly and securely placing 
a whipping on a rod. See Plate XXXIV., Figs. 1, 2 
and 3. 

Bulging Trout 

Trout may at times — such times being generally bad for 
the dry fly fisherman — be seen feeding on the nymphae of 
water insects. On these occasions, although the trout are 
rising to the surface, they take little or no notice of the natural 
or artificial fly on the water. When the trout are showing 
the dorsal fin and part of the back above the water, they 
are then said to be bulging. If the fisherman finds that the 
trout, in these circumstances, persistently refuse to feed on 
the floating fly, his best plan is to change his cast, and fish 
up and across stream with a short line and two or more 
hackle-winged flies. These flies should, if possible, resemble 
the nymphae on which the trout are feeding, and should 
only be sunk a few inches below the surface, the spasmodic 
swimming action of the nymphae being imitated as closely as 
possible by a series of very small jerks given to the artificial 
fly as the cast is drawn through the water toward the 
fisherman. 

I have found that a hackle medium Olive Quill is very 



WET FLY FISHING, ETC. 131 

useful. On one occasion, when fishing on a delightful 
chalk stream in Normandy, I gave up any attempt to attract 
the fish, which were showing up in all directions, with the 
dry fly, and by adopting the above method secured quite a 
respectable basket of fish. I have since then, under 
bulging conditions, tried a Gold-ribbed Hare's Ear, also 
a Greenwell's Glory, and think the reader will find either 
of these flies well worth trying, the gold ribbing being 
most likely the attraction. Alders, or Coch y Bondhu can 
at times be used with success when trout are persistently 
bulging. 

Keeping the Line Clear 

A word as to casting and fishing when daylight has ceased 
and before the moon makes her appearance. In order to 
keep your line clear in casting, bring the rod back a little to 
the left of the vertical, and return it slightly to the right, 
or vice versd. This should effectually prevent fouling, always 
allowing plenty of time for the line to extend itself behind. 
The line should, however, be drawn through the fingers 
every few minutes, in order to make certain that it has not 
fouled. When a breeze is blowing across your line, always 
bring your rod back slightly to leeward, and return it 
slightly to windward of the vertical plane in which you 
would otherwise cast. 

Changing the Fly after Dark 

Now as to the greatest difficulty of all — the changing or 
replacing of trout flies on the cast after dark. This is a 
difficulty which has on more than one occasion robbed me 
of the charm of redeeming the ill-fortune of a poor day, 
when the very audible but invisible activity of the trout 
was telling me of a long delayed and anxiously expected 
rise. 



132 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

In the dusk, with no lantern and no one to help, the 
chances of replacing a lost fly are infinitesimal. A small 
portable electric light is being sold which effectually 
overcomes this difficulty. This lamp can be suspended 
round the neck, lies flat on the breast, and, when turned on 
by means of a switch, sheds a bright and constant beam of 
light full on the hands, etc. It is cheap, and has a two- 
candle power lamp, lasting for hours. It can be recharged 
by dry cells in less than two minutes. This light is only 
wanted at rare intervals, and never for more than three or 
four minutes ; its use permits the angler to continue his 
fishing however dark the evening may be.* 



* This lamp is sold by Messrs. Holtzapffel & Co., 53, Haymarket, S.W. 



CHAPTER VIII 

AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES— GRAYLING FISHING 

Hints to the student — Axioms and advice on sundry fishing matters — 
Loch and lake fishing — GrayUng. 

Hints to the Student 
Experience and common-sense are the most valuable 
guides when actually fishing. No two days are alike, and at 
each step the fisherman will most likely be confronted with 
an absolutely new combination of circumstances. This is 
perhaps one of the greatest charms of dry fly fishing. To 
read is good, because it shows from the personal knowledge 
of others that no two experiences of the same writer are 
absolutely alike, and no hard-and-fast axioms of fishing lore 
can invariably be followed. The attendant circumstances 
should guide the immediate actions of the moment. 

There are, however, certain truths and axioms which 
occur to me and which the beginner might do well to 
remember ; they may perhaps be tinged with a personal 
colour, for they are the results of my own fishing experience. 

The fisherman should always remember that nothing 
succeeds like success, and if he believes in the fly he is using 
he is more likely to be successful than if he is doubtful as 
to its virtues. The suggestion that the fly he is using must 
be the best assists him while fishing. I can even imagine a 
day's salmon fishing to be interesting from start to finish 
in spite of the fact that no salmon have come at the fly, 
if the fisherman himself believes that his fly is the only one 
that will kill at the time. 

18S 



134 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

It really means that the suggestion of infallibility aids 
the fisherman in that continuation of attention which is so 
necessary to the purpose in hand, i.e., to attract the attention 
of the fish. I think myself that there is no fly like my own 
" Fancy," and while a certain amount of optimism may be 
allowed because of the success I have attained with it, at 
the back of my brain I know full well that some at least of 
its success is due to the suggestion of its infallibility. 

The beginner, he who has been badly taught, or the self- 
taught man who may have acquired bad habits, fails to 
understand why his friend catches readily and easily fish 
after fish, during a long day, while he secures but a few, if 
any. 

The skilful fly fisherman, who can take every rising fish 
within his reach, seldom attributes his success or his friend's 
failure to the real cause, which is, the certain and immediate 
skilfulness or unskilfulness of each cast. 

The dry fly fisherman, for instance, has, as a rule, only one 
opportunity at each fish, and it is with him that the making 
or marring of that chance rests. Each initial cast for a 
trout possesses a greater or less difficulty, and his success 
will depend on the immediate and skilful manner in which 
he takes advantage of the opportunity. 

The most essential portion of the dry fly fisherman's 
art, and the most diffiicult to acquire, is the power to place 
at once and with certainty the right fly, delicately and 
accurately, over his fish. 

Axioms 

Among the many factors which contribute to the happi- 
ness of any day's fishing, the killing of the fish is an incident 
which ranks least. 

The best fisherman in my opinion is he who nets most 
fish, and who kills or inj ures the least. 



AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES 135 

There can be no harm in filling one's creel if its contents 
are employed in " pleasuring some poor body " as Izaak 
Walton has it, but to effect the depletion of a trout stream 
for no other purpose than that of proving one's skill, and to 
toil during the day under a creel loaded with those beautiful 
fish in order to establish our own prowess on our return to 
our fishing quarters, is a vanity which calm consideration 
should soon permit us to conquer. 

A fisherman's day may be considered to be one on which 
trout are difficult to capture. A duffer's day may be con- 
sidered to be one on which the fish are superlatively easy to 
capture. 

It should always be remembered that the killing of a 
two or three year old fish puts an end to the most 
valuable and interesting period of its life. 

Always be charitable ; never discredit a reputed trout 
stream because you have been unlucky on one or two 
occasions. " No fish in the river " is a rash statement to 
advance, because, after one or two visits, no fish have 
been caught, or possibly seen. A futile visit to a stream and 
a hasty opinion thus formed may be regretted. I remember, 
by the kindly courtesy of a French landowner in Normandy, 
taking a day on his stream, in which he told me were many 
trout. I had been doing well all the week, but on this day 
I had the poorest luck, and, therefore, hastily concluded 
that the stream was almost barren of trout. Consequently, 
on one memorable day on which the May-fly was dominant, 
instead of going with a friend who was fishing this stream, 
I went farther and fared worse, and found, on meeting my 
friend in the evening, that he had enjoyed a glorious day's 
trouting. I still regret losing that excellent day, and consider 
that, as regards any water, first impressions are not always 
the soundest. 



136 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The golden hours of a trout fisherman's experience will 
be from lo a.m. to 3 p.m. 

It is during their first rise, i.e., during the period when 
they first come on the feed on any day, that most trout 
will probably be taken. You may miss this rise ! 

As the big fish rise most frequently in a slow and dignified 
manner, their rise is generally of a less disturbing character 
than that of a young, eager and voracious youngster. The 
splash made by a big fish may be less, but the wave will 
probably be bigger ; nevertheless to the unobservant or 
inexperienced fisherman the difference is not easily discern- 
ible. The musical, sucking noise of the big fish, when 
feeding at night on surface food, is unmistakable. 

Do not press in fly casting. Use the least possible force 
in order to achieve your best cast. 

If it be possible always keep a taut line after a fish is 
hooked. 

Play your fish from the reel if possible. 

Keep your rod well up when playing the fish. 

A constant and delicate strain on the line secures a 
lightly hooked trout, which otherwise would be lost. 

Always remember that in very weedy water it is better 
to let a trout go up-stream into the tail of a bunch of weeds 
than to pull him down-stream, and let him get sideways 
into the thick of such a danger. A fish which may seem 
hopelessly entangled in weeds and brushwood may with 
patience and nerve be ultimately creeled.* 

When about to net or gaff your fish, use your reel as little 
as possible. 

* See page 53, re Weeds and Handlining. 



AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES 137 

Your man, your rod, your reel, and yourself, should be as 
still as a heron at that critical moment. 

Look to the point of your trout and salmon hook 
frequently, and always carry a small file in case the point 
becomes blunted. 

Avoid casting directly over a trout if possible, but get 
your fly above and within range of the trout's vision as soon 
as possible after one has risen. 

In the ordinary run of a stream when a trout is seen 
rising, so long as a fly floats into the circle which bounds its 
upward vision (see Diagram 2), and so long as the line 
does not immediately bisect the circle when fishing up- 
stream, the angler may rest assured that he has done all he 
can do when he casts to a spot immediately above the circle 
of the rising fish. If immediately below your fish the Hne 
can be thrown in a curve, so that while the fly alights 
immediately above your trout, the line will curl over to 
the right or left of the trout's position. As the cast falls on 
and breaks the surface of the water, it will be visible to 
the trout, but it is not so likely to scare the fish as if it had 
fallen immediately over its head. (See the drag, page 197). 

Run your dry fly line through your grease pad at least 
twice during the day's fishing — but only when the line is 
dry — once before you start, and once after the pause for 
luncheon — take ofl any superfluous grease by running the 
line through your handkerchief or any dry rag. 

If too much grease be put on the line, it hinders its easy 
running through the rings of the rod. 

Keep the point of your rod down when fishing. 

The less slack line there is between your rod point and the 
fly, the better will be your strike and the greater your 
command over the fish you hook. 



138 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Unreel your line every night and let it dry. 

Keep the ratchet wheel of your reel clean and well oiled, 
and the spindle clean and just sufficiently oiled to allow the 
drum to run smoothly. 

Gut Casts 

Gut Casts which have been lying in the damping box 
all day should be placed in dry flannel at night, and gut 
should be soaked, carefully tested and examined before 
being used. 

The length of the gut cast used in dry fly fishing should be 
about nine feet. I have never found it necessary to use 
longer ones. 

When the fisherman is casting correctly, he will some- 
times find that the last few inches of his nine foot gut cast 
will not be properly extended and will fall backward on itself ; 
and in such a case he should shorten the length of his 
cast by a few inches and carefully note the result. Such a 
fault is, I think, frequently due to the faulty— though 
undetectable — tapering, or construction of the taper of his 
gut points with which the cast is made. I have invariably 
been able, in a few experimental casts, to correct this fault 
by slightly altering the length of the cast. 

It is always advisable to test old casts before throwing 
them away. If the gut has not been exposed to daylight 
it will be found that by soaking it in a solution consisting 
of water and about ten per cent, of glycerine its usefulness 
may be restored. 

The last season's gut is sometimes treated to a judicious 
soaking in such a solution. 

I have found the best material for floating a line, or a cast, 
to be hippopotamus fat, but if this be not obtainable, mutton 
fat is the cheapest and best grease to take with one for 
applying to the line. It certainly cannot in any way 



AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES 139 

injure the lasting qualities of the tapered fishing line or 
gut, while being all that can be desired for preserving the 
line and making it buoyant. 

The best method of detecting faulty gut, or a cast that 
has been weakened in the tying, is by first looking to see 
if any white spots or glints are showing in the material of the 
gut itself, and secondly, by bending the gut between the 
two hands at each knot. If the gut is cracked, or has 
become weakened, the curve of the gut in the bend will 
not as a rule be regular. 

Although an old cast may appear to be quite sound before 
being used, after being soaked for half an hour it will some- 
times part with surprising ease, and therefore a test on the 
strength of the gut should always be made, after it has been 
carefully soaked. 

The Trout Fly Rod 

A perfect trout fly rod should be good for both the wet and 
the dry fly methods of casting. A rod whose action is 
centred at or near the spot whereon the ball of the thumb is 
placed, will communicate to the wet fly fisherman the most 
delicate touch by the fish at the fly, and because the thumb 
attention is always continuously or subconsciously engaged 
in holding the rod such a touch will always be instantly 
appreciated. Where a very whippy rod is used, and when 
the action of this rod is not so happily situated, a delicate 
pull by a fish results in a slightly and very gradually in- 
creased bend of the rod point, not always observed, for the 
eye is seldom, in any method of fishing, directed to the rod. 

Keep the metal sockets of your rod greased. 

Smear your wooden rods with a little mutton fat before 
putting them away for the close season. 

Use the two tops of your fly rod alternately. A con- 
venient way to remember this is to see that the top which has 



140 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

to be used — when the rod is again put together — is next to 
the middle joint, when you are putting the rod into its 
cotton pockets at night. 

While the nature of the lure may be varied with conspicu- 
ous success during the season, this axiom might and should 
be remembered — The finer the water, the finer the lure. 

Except it be necessary to cast a long line in order to fish 
some particular spot otherwise unfishable, always keep well 
within your distance, and avoid fishing a long line, when a 
shorter line will serve your purpose equally well. 

When fishing from the bank of a trout stream in the 
vicinity of trees, bushes, etc., nothing can excuse negligence 
in failing to look behind in the plane in which a fresh back 
cast has to be made. Sailormen have a proverb which runs, 
" The devil would make a good sailor, if he would look up 
aloft," and I think fishermen might have an equally trite 
proverb in — " The devil would make a good fly fisherman 
if he would only look behind." 

Each day on which you fish should most certainly add to 
your knowledge and experience, and maybe to your skill. 

In order to make the best possible forward cast the line 
should be extended in the backward cast directly away from 
the spot at which the fly has to fall. 

The line follows every movement of the point of the rod. 

The name of the method, by which the casting of a fly is 
known, depends on the manner in which the backward cast 
is made. 

Vim and not violence should be used in casting. 

" Attention " is not the recognition of a truth or a fact, 
but the consideration of it. 



AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES 141 

The weather may be unpleasant, the fish shy, your luck 
villainous, but never be discouraged ; your luck must turn, 
the fish must feed, the sun must shine, and 3 ou must catch 
fish. 

Bad luck at the card tables may be ended by a no-trump 
hand and a big slam. The poorest day's fishing may be 
concluded with the capture of a record fish. 

A perfect trout rod should be one which can project a 
fly to any reasonable distance, of a taper which will cause 
an even and gradually increasing curvature in the rod from 
the hand to the top ring, as it is brought into play, of an 
action which will make its elasticity merge into that of the 
forearm, and of a material and construction which will 
resist the stress of hard work. 

Do not use your favourite fly fishing rod or line either for 
trolling, spinning, or competitive casting, or with a desire 
to show off your distance casting ability, for your rod will 
suffer, even though you flatter your amour-propre by 
making a record cast. 

One of the many charms of dry fly fishing is the correct 
solution of problems affecting the first cast of the fly at 
a rising fish. 

Loch Fishing- 

In calm weather and during certain hours of the day, the 
fisherman will be unable to obtain fish by the ordinary 
manner of casting and fishing his flies, and the following is 
an excellent means of obtaining fish under such circum- 
stances. The fly or flies should be allowed to sink slowly 
to the bottom of the loch and when they have rested there 
for a short time should be raised to the surface by a series 
of little jerks, and this method repeated will frequently 



142 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

result in the fish being attracted by the lures as they rise 
through the water to the surface. 

Other circumstances being favourable, the more temperate 
the water of a trout lake the greater is the supply of water 
insects, the larger and more numerous the trout. 

The rise of trout in a loch or a lake is never of such a 
regular character as the rise of trout in a stream. The loch 
trout rise much more slowly, and will often watch a dry 
fly on the surface of the water for some minutes before 
attempting to move upwards to investigate it. A dry fly 
should therefore be allowed to remain on the surface of the 
water until it sinks. It may then be pulled through, and 
under the water in a series of little twitches, until it is almost 
at the angler's feet. 

I remember adopting this method on a lake in Ireland 
(see Plate XIV.) with very great success, for the surface of 
the water being glassy I secured half my fish by using these 
tactics. 

Grayling. 

When comparing the fighting qualities of trout and gray- 
ling weight for weight, the former must, without hesitation, 
be regarded as affording the better sport. That grayling, 
when in the prime of their condition and when taken in cer- 
tain rivers, afford most excellent sport is undeniable, but they 
appear to me to vary in their fighting qualities to a greater 
degree than trout. Rivers which are rapid, shallow, pebbly, 
and low in temperature, are those in which I have found 
them at their best. 

Grayling are less conspicuous when in the water than 
trout, and, unless they are on the feed, their presence in the 
deeper water of a run or pool is frequently undetected. 
Even when on the feed they appear to lie at a lower depth 
than trout, and as they are constantly on the move it is 



PLATE XIII. 




■^.^ii 



^41 



The Summer Glory of a Chalk Stream. (Test below Romsey.) 

PLATE XIV. 




Ax Irish Trout Lake. 



AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES 143 

always more difficult to locate them. I have killed a far 
greater number in the smoother portion of a pool than in 
the rougher water, but I have killed them on the wet fly 
on the most rapid portions of deep runs in such rivers as the 
Warg, the Vecla, and other European waters, and at a time 
when they appeared to be untakable on the quieter portions 
of the same river. 

When on the feed grayling appear to be less discriminating 
as regards the appearance and movements of the flies 
presented to them than trout, for though they seem at times 
to have a strong partiality for a certain fly, or certain flies, 
they do not seem to be " put down " if the fly or flies 
presented to them are brought to their notice in a manner 
which would effectually put down a trout. 

When in smooth water they are best taken on the dry 
fly fished up-stream, and two or three dry flies can without 
fear of scaring them, and with considerable success, be 
attached to a nine foot cast. Small flies are most commonly 
used, but it is quite a mistake to think that the grayling's 
mouth is not capable of taking the largest size of a trout 
hook ; I have found it by no means a bad plan to put on 
as a tail fly a Wickham or Olive Blue Dun on a No. i size 
hook, a Red Tag on a No. o hook, and a Green Insect on a 
00 hook. Fish them as dry flies up a pool, 'and then down 
the same pool partly as wet and partly as dry flies. 

The disadvantage of fishing down stream is that only one 
grayling in about every four that rise seems to be secured. 

I was fishing on the Tanat not long ago, down stream, 
with a somewhat similar arrangement of flies on my cast to 
that given above, and found myself missing grayling after 
grayling as they rose to my flies, but on getting to the 
bottom of the pool — in which I had only succeeded in hooking 
one fish — I dried my cast and fished upstream, only missing 
two rising fish, and securing no less than eight others. 



144 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Grayling take the wet or dry fly whether floating on or 
slithering along the surface, whether being drawn through 
or allowed to float down under the surface. 

On the head waters of the Vistula and the Dniester, the 
fly fishermen have a peculiar method of presenting the fly 
to the grayling. They use a long light rod, and, attached 
to the end of their line, a light but strong piece of split 
bamboo about seven inches in length ; they fasten the line 
to the middle of this bamboo, to each end of which is secured 
a piece of gut three inches in length, on each of which a 
fly, either natural or artificial, is fixed. The method of 
fishing is to keep as much as possible out of sight, and 
suspend the seven inch split bamboo just above the water, 
so that the two flies slither along the surface. By moving 
along the bank, either up or down stream, the flies are thus 
presented to the fish, and with a considerable amount of 
success. I did not see enough of the method to warrant my 
recommending it in place of the dry fly, but it shows that 
grayling are not easily put down. 

The mouth of the grayling is not only smaller, but it 
is less tough and more easily damaged, than that of the 
trout, consequently a generally more delicate manner of 
playing the grayling is necessary. So long as a grayling 
when hooked is on the upstream side of the fisherman, there 
is little danger of the fly breaking away from its mouth, but 
should the grayling get below the fisherman and thus be 
able to take advantage of the strength of the stream, he will 
not only show considerable fighting qualities, but is far more 
likely to break away. He is more easily hooked, I think, 
than the trout, but also more easily lost on this account ; 
he certainly feeds on smaller varieties of insect life and more 
frequently on the larval than on the flying state of these 
insects. 

The best time in the day for grayling fishing during the 



AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES 145 

first part of the season is from lo a.m. to 4 p.m., but during 
October and until the close of the season, the most favour- 
able period is from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m. Sunshiny weather 
appears to bring the grayling on the feed, and although no 
grayling may be seen rising, it is worth while fishing very 
carefully during all the hours above mentioned. No part 
of a grayling stream should be neglected. Grayling will 
be found, not only under the banks of the river, in the 
deeper runs and shallow glides, but also in the most rapid 
and rougher parts of the stream. 

I have found that the best flies to use for grayling are 
the Red Tag, Orange Tag, Bumble, Green Insect, Olive 
Quill, Light Blue Dun, and Water Witch. I have 
never killed grayling save with the fly, but large baskets 
are made with the worm, gentle, and " Grasshopper," 
the latter also having several maggots impaled on the 
hook. The Grasshopper is perhaps the most effective 
bait, but I do not consider it a very sporting method of 
fishing. 

But the prettiest form of bait fishing for grayling, in my 
opinion, is with the float. A No. 00 hook, a gentle, and very 
fine tackle should be used, and with a very light rod, and a 
spinning reel such as the Illingworth, this method of fishing 
will afford excellent sport. 

Grayling are in season from July until March, but they 
will rise at the fly at all times, and in the lower portions of 
the Test and Itchen, during the May fly season, I have found 
them an unmitigated nuisance. They are best for the table 
in October and November, and I think during those months 
they afford the best sport. 

I do not think the introduction of grayling into a trout 
stream is in every case advisable, as they undoubtedly oust 
the trout to a considerable extent in some rivers, and the 
quality and number of the trout certainly seem to suffer.* 

11 



146 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

I am certain from my actual experience that a considerable 
falling off in the number of trout has occurred in certain 
portions of rivers like the Test and the Itchen, into which 
grayling have been introduced during the last thirty years. 
Grayling certainly feed vigorously during the season at 
which trout spawn, and are known to eat the ova of trout 
and salmon. 

It is because grayling, when introduced into some of our 
rivers, eventually outnumber, even if they do not in certain 
parts displace the trout, that I regard the former as being of 
foreign origin, for if grayling were natural to Great Britain 
it would not be necessary to introduce them into those 
streams in which they thrive so well. 

On the other hand grayling fishing is an excellent winter 
sport, and rivers in which they are to be found offer a charm- 
ing past-time to the wet and dry fly fisherman when the 
trout season is over. 

In appearance the grayling is, next to the trout, the most 
beautiful of our fresh water fish (see Plate XV.).t 

The grayling has a noticeable smell of thyme, and hence 
the Latin name of Salmo Thymallus. 

Both with grayling and with trout it is well to remember 
that frequently a fish, which will take no notice of a fly 
on the surface, will yet come after a dry fly which is pulled 
under the water and towards the fisherman, with a series 
of little twitches. It must not be forgotten that flying 
insects, or indeed any surface food, is the least common 
of any of the foods on which a fish will feed. 



* Francis Francis says : — " It is a curious fact that in good grayling streams 
the trout are seldom of so good a quality or condition as they are in pure 
trout streams." — A Book on Angling, 1885. 

f Plate V. shows a morning catch of trout and grayling, the largest grayling 
being three pounds and three ounces in weight, and the largest trout four 
pounds five ounces. 



CHAPTER IX 
THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY. 

Necessity of learning to cast — The two principles of casting — How to 
learn to cast — Casting with the single handed rod — Position when 
casting — The backward cast — ^The forward cast — ^The movements 
required when casting diagrammatically considered — Practising 
on the lawn continued — Practising over water — Misapplied force 
when casting — ^Wrist and arm action — An appreciation of the 
above methods. 

Necessity of Learning How to Cast 

The difficulties which are met with on an ordinary river 
when fly fishing can always be overcome when one's 
methods of fly-casting are perfect. It is, therefore, of the 
greatest importance not only to know how to cast, but how 
to cast in every style. Bearing this in mind, the reader will, 
I hope, be induced to devote a little time to the following 
description of the various casts taught by myself, and if a 
little patient attention be devoted to the matter it will, I 
feel assured, repay him. 

When actually fishing, the adaptation of a variation of 
any habit perfectly learnt in order to overcome a new 
difficulty is better than trying to create an entirely new 
method in order to surmount any such difficulty. The 
object of all casting is to get the fly to alight in some 
desired and definite place. To be able to do this to the best 
advantage, the line should, in the backward cast, be more or 
less extended in the air, opposite to the direction in which 
it has to alight. The smallest backward curve of the line 
behind the rod will, however, suffice for the forward cast, 

147 



148 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

should any danger exist immediately at the back of the 
fisherman. 

Natural dangers such as trees, bushes, cliffs, etc., and 
artificial difficulties, such as telegraph-poles, barbed wire, 
etc., will prevent at times not only the overhead backward 
cast from being made, but also many other variations of the 
curved cast. Yet there will always be one variation at least 
which can be adopted in order to bring the line sufficiently 
back to be easily and accurately cast forward. The more 
completely the line can be thus brought back, the better the 
result in the forward cast. There is no place from which a 
fisherman cannot cast his line so long as he can bring his 
rod to its usual backward angle (see Plate XXV.), and so 
that, between his rod and the object, a clear plane is open 
for the line in its forward movement. 

The methods of casting with a two-handed rod are 
identical with those used when casting with a single-handed 
one, the difference between the two rods being that, instead 
of the elbow acting as the pivot of the backward and for- 
ward cast as in the single-handed rod, the pivot of the 
double-handed rod is situated at a point midway between 
the two hands, and so long as these pivotal points are 
respectively maintained, the upward and backward and the 
forward and downward motions of the upper hand, 
and the pivot of the double-handed rod, are respectively 
similar to the same motion of the hand and the elbow with 
the single-handed rod (see Diagrams 8, 13, 17). 

The Two Principles of Casting 

By the term " cast " or " casting," I include all the 
movements made by a single or double-handed rod in lifting 
a fly from any one place, and casting it — first, either back 
to the same .place, or — secondly, to any other desired 
position on the water. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 149 

In the first place this means a movement of the rod 
backward and forward in one plane. 

In the second place it means a movement of the rod 
backward from one plane into some other plane, and forward 
in the new plane. 

Every variety of cast must be grouped under one or other 
of these two principles, but the second principle, in which 
the fly is taken from any one position and cast to some other 
position, permits again of two methods — in one of which 
two distinct motions are made, as in the Wye cast, see p. 184, 
and in the other the cast from one plane into some other 
plane is made in one continuous motion, as in the Spey 
or Loop casts. 

The casts made under the first principle are easily 
described and drawn, as they are invariably made in one 
plane. The great difficulty, however, of drawing diagrams 
relating to any curved casts is that while these casts have 
to be made in more than one plane, the artist has only one 
on which he can show them, and for that reason the latter 
are, diagrammatically, somewhat more difficult to explain. 

The casts which come under the first principle include the 
Overhead cast, with extended back movement of the line, 
the Side cast, and the Galway cast. 

The casts which come under the second principle are the 
Wye, the Loop, the Switch, and the Spey, or any alteration 
of a cast from one quarter to another in a single continuous 
movement ; and any cast in which a danger has to be avoided 
within the radius of the extended backward cast. 

First, then, we have to consider the physical efforts which 
are required in casting. 

How TO Learn to Cast 

The principle of thinking out each movement should be 
adopted when learning, but not continuously repeated for 



150 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

more than three or four complete backward and forward 
casts of the rod — a pause of one or two minutes should then 
ensue and the process be recommenced. No lesson on one 
subject should exceed one hour in duration each day, but 
the mind can be directed to a consideration of the exact 
actions which constitute each complete backward and 
forward movement of the rod at as many intervals during 
the day as opportunity will afford, and the more frequent 
the repetition of the mental consideration of the exact 
movements required the sooner will a correct habit be 
formed. It follows from this that when once a correct idea 
is established in the mind of the beginner as to what he has 
to try to do, and the immediate results which will follow 
his doing this correctly, he will with very little difficulty 
acquire as a habit the basis on which correct casting rests, 
which is the ability to extend the fly backward and 
forward. 

To ascertain the correct action of the hand which grasps 
the rod, when projecting the fly in the forward and back- 
ward casts, is the first and most important matter for 
consideration. 

Every action deliberately performed in response to desire 
is made by muscles consciously or subconsciously controlled, 
and before they can be subconsciously controlled, i.e., before 
the action becomes a habit, the brain cells, or cell controlling 
the particular muscles which produce the action, must be 
educated by carefully repeated mental consideration of the 
exact movement or movements which will effect the 
object of our desire. The more resolutely we adhere to 
the habit of thinking out fully any movement we have to 
make before allowing ourselves to make it, the more 
quickly will a correct habit be acquired, and the more 
readily can we perform such an action without conscious 
effort. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 151 

Casting with the Single-handed Rod 

When learning to cast a fly it is advisable to do so over 
grass and not over water, because, when casting on a lawn 
no difficulties other than those of acquiring a correct habit 
in casting will be encountered. The line, when projected 
forward, will lie on the grass, and no matter how long it be 
left there, it will not alter its position, or become any more 
difficult to manipulate by the delay, and the attention can 
thus be given solely to the thoughts which must accompany 
fly casting. 

If the initial attempts to cast a fly are made over water 
the difficulties will be increased by the fact that the line and 
fly will sink below the surface whenever a pause is made 
after making the forward cast, and the attention is thus 
detracted by having to reel up the line, or otherwise to get 
it above the surface, and to again extend it prior to the 
backward cast. 

In the preliminary practice any old rod, reel and line can 
be used, provided that the rod is not too heavy, and that 
the line be tapered and suitable to the rod. The student 
should not purchase a rod until he has acquired the art of 
extending a straight and accurate line. When he is able 
to do this, he will then be better able to select a rod to suit 
his strength and his requirements. 

I am going to assume that the reader knows how to put 
a rod together, to place the reel on the rod, and thread the 
line ; but just here a word as to the reel — and I am now 
speaking to the right-handed fisherman. Always use your 
left hand for manipulating the reel — that is, have the reel 
fixed on the rod so that its handle is pointing towards the 
left hand when the rod is being used. It is quite a simple 
matter to learn to use the reel with the left hand, and it is 
of infinite advantage to the fisherman. The rod can thus 
be always retained in the right hand after striking a fish. 



152 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

avoiding the risky and, in my opinion, unnecessary changing 
of the rod from right to left hand when a fish is hooked, 
and leaving the left hand free at all times for the landing-net, 
for manipulating the line and reel, for one's pipe, etc. 

The rod and line being now ready, take your stand in the 
middle of the lawn. The rod should be in your right hand, 
pointing forward, the reel being on its lower side, and your 
hand firmly grasping the butt, with the thumb extending 
along the upper side. 

Position when Casting 

The position of your body should be as follows (see 
Plate XVI.). The right foot is advanced and pointing in the 
direction of your line, the left foot slightly behind and 
pointing to the left, the weight of the body resting on both 
feet, the right shoulder forward, and the body erect. 

The upper part of the right arm should point downwards, 
with the elbow slightly in advance of the body, and the 
forearm be extended in the same direction as the rod, which 
latter must be held firmly and pointing nearly horizontally 
(see Plate XVI.). 

The Backward Cast 

Now the object you should have in view is to learn how to 
cast your line (and fly) straight in front of you, and it will 
be evident that before casting forward, you must get the 
line more or less extended behind you ; thus the back cast 
— which effects this — is the first and probably the most 
important thing to learn ; therefore I want you to practise 
this back cast before attempting to make the forward one. 

I will later on describe how this forward extension of the 
line is generally acquired, but we will assume that you 
have extended — which is a simple matter — about tv.elve 
yards of your line on the grass in front of you. 



PLATE XVI. 



PLATE XVM. 





THE NORMAL FISHING POSITION. 



lUsIlIuN Al LNU OF BACKWARD SWITCH. 
NOTICE THE LEFT HAND. 

PLATE XVm. 




The Backward Switch of thk Tkul t Kod as the Line Leaves 

THE Water. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 153 

There is one important point to remember : the right 
elbow should be used as the pivot of the rod, and the hand 
regarded as a socket, which, with the wrist rigidly controlled, 
makes the forearm and the butt one continuous part of the 
rod. 

Now raise the point of the rod steadily and vertically 
upwards in order to pick up the line* and without stopping 
this lifting movement of the arm and rod, convert it into 
a smart backward switch, stopping the rod suddenly as it 
attains an angle of about twenty-two degrees behind the 
vertical (see Plate XVII.). 

If the forearm be brought backward until the thumb nail 
is checked by the peak of the cap, and if the extended 
thumb be used to stop any further backward action of 
the rod, the wrist cannot be bent. 

Plates XVII. and XVIII., and Diagrams 8 and 9, show 
clearly the correct position of the rod and arm at the end 
of and during the back overhead cast. 

If the backward cast is made properly, the line will curl 
over the top of the rod and extend itself backward (see 
Plate XLL). If the backward impetus of the rod over- 
comes the rigidity of the wrist, it will simply be due to the 
fact that " attention " is not concentrated on the duty of 
the thumb. 

The wrist must, however, be kept rigid, and therefore 
attention must be so concentrated until this necessary 
muscular control of the rod becomes a habit. It will 
be of great assistance when acquiring this habit if the 
thumb be brought back towards the face and checked dead 
as it reaches the peak of the cap. 

* The vertical lift upward of the point of the trout and salmon rod is made, 
not only to raise the line well from the water, but in order that the hand 
which lifts the rod may have plenty of distance to move horizontally 
backward in the direction in which the line is to travel in the back 
cast 



154 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

In order that you may grasp clearly the kind of action 
required for this back cast, you should imagine that there is 
a small piece of wet clay stuck rather insecurely on the top 
of your rod, and that from the first position as shown in 
Diagram 9, you have by a steady but increasing force to 
switch this piece of clay off the rod top in a horizontal 
direction behind you. 

This is exactly the kind of impulse required to extend 
the line backward. 

Remember always that it is not violence, but vim, which 
results in a correct cast. 

The force employed in the back stroke should be just 
sufficient to extend the line after the backward action of 
the rod has been arrested, and, having been thus extended 
the line will, unless the forward cast be then made, fall 
to the ground behind you.* 

The line should again be extended on the lawn and the 
whole of this practice repeated until you are satisfied that 
you are able to make the back cast correctly. 

If you now wish to make the back cast without having 
your line extended on the lawn, shorten it, leaving only 
about twenty feet beyond the top ring of your rod. Get 
into the first position again, but holding the line in your 
left hand, the rod pointing just above the horizon (see 
page 159), extend your right hand and at the same time 
lift it and the point of the rod together, letting go the line, 
and as it falls from you in a circular outward sweep, make 



* You may find your line during the back cast coming into collision with 
your rod, and if this bothers you, you may make a slight curve with the rod to 
one side or the other during the back stroke, thus keeping the rod clear of the 
line in its backward course. But this collision can only be due either to a 
faulty back stroke, or from using too long a line. If a correct motion of the 
back cast is made when using a medium length of line, it will lift the line 
above the level of the top of the rod as the line travels backward. 

If the line be a long one, some of it may in its backward journey by the 
action of gravity travel below the top of the rod, and if brought back in the 
same plane may collide with it. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 155 

the back cast as before. You are now ready to make the 
forward cast. 

The Forward Cast 

At the end of this backward motion of the rod it should, 
being held firmly, remain stationary until the line has ex- 
tended itself, and a pause is therefore necessary between 




Diagram 8. 

HRT and HRT — The rise and the backward movement of the trout 

rod. 
HHH (dotted) — The two sides of the triangle through which the 

hand moves in making the backward cast. 
H H (solid) — The third side of the triangle made by the hand in 

the forward cast. 



the backward and forward casts in order to allow this 
extension of the line. It is the correct timing of this 
pause which is one of the secrets of a successful forward 
cast. This pause will vary in duration ; the wind, the 
quality of rod, the length of line, and the force and speed 
of the back cast, will all influence the velocity of the 
backward-moving line. 



156 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Under average conditions I have determined that, with 
eighteen yards of line out, this pause should be about four- 
fifths of a second, which is about equal to the time we take 
in saying " and thumb " — a shorter line requiring a quicker 
and a longer line a more drawn out enunciation. If, then, 
the forward cast be made immediately after these two words 
have been uttered aloud, the rod being forced down- 
ward by the thumb, and the downward motion checked 
dead as the hand reaches the level of the elbow (see 
Diagram 12), a perfect forward cast of the line should be 
achieved. 

This forward and downward motion should start from 
inertia and gradually increase in force until it is thus 
checked. 

The action of the rod, when commenced, will be accelerated 
more rapidly in the forward than in the backward motion. 
In the latter, the line, being on the ground or water, cannot 
suffer by falling any lower, however slowly the rod may be 
moved in raising it, whereas unless the forward acceleration 
of the rod follows fairly quickly on the back stroke, the line 
will fall to the ground, and the forward cast will suffer in 
consequence. Exactly the same proportionate increase of 
force must, however, be applied to the backward or forward 
switch when once the line is in the air. 

When possible the line should always be allowed to extend 
itself backwards before the return stroke is made, as this 
is the most certain method of making an accurate and 
delicate cast forward. In practice, although the perfect 
extension of the line backward at the moment the forward 
cast is made may not always be effected, yet the attempt 
will be one which enables the fisherman to extend and shoot 
his line further than in any other style of overhead or side 
casting. This style has another advantage, in that it offers 
less difficulty to the beginner. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 157 

At the end of the back cast the fly should have arrived 
at its highest point of elevation, the rod point being situated 
somewhere in the line between it and the place on the 
water where the fly has to alight. 

Some fishermen, however, do not extend their lines behind 
them, and their overhead forward casts are in reality made 
when their line is in a vertical backward curve or loop — 
in other words, they make their forward casts when their 
lines are in a position such as is shown in Plate XLI. If 
the reader will turn to this Plate and assume that in the 
picture the fisherman is making his forward cast, he will see 
that this forward impulse can only be directly transmitted 
to the shortest portion of the line, while a good deal of the 
impulse must be lost in dragging the longer part of the line 
in the opposite direction. 

While I experience no difficulty in casting in this particular 
style so long as a perfect continuity of force of the back- 
ward and forward action be sustained, yet I find that a 
successful wind cast is difficult, that my distance is more 
limited, and my accuracy less. In 1905, when first putting 
my theories into print, I had to consider, not the merits of 
such a style of casting, but whether a result equally good 
so far as delicacy was concerned would not be more easily 
acquired by permitting the line to extend itself backward 
before making the forward cast, and whether such a style 
would not give equal delicacy, greater accuracy, and better 
results when casting against the wind and for distance casting. 

That I have succeeded in establishing the correctness of 
my theories will, I think, be generally admitted. One of 
my most successful pupils in flycasting, certainly as regards 
success at tournaments, is Mr. R. D. Hughes, and anyone 
who has seen him use his rod and line will have noticed how 
fully he permits his line to extend itself behind, before he 
makes his forward cast. 



158 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

If the line is fully extended, every particle of impulse 
wiU be applied to it in the right direction, and consequently 
a better result should theoretically occur, and a greater 
accuracy be acquired, in that the pull will not be applied 
to a curve. 

The forward cast, then, should be made at the expiration 
of the pause before mentioned ; the force applied should 
gradually increase in strength until the rod is stopped 
at an angle of about twenty-two degrees above the 
horizontal level (see Diagram 12). This angle may be 
considered to be the normal one at which the downward 
effort of the overhead cast ceases, but it alters when making 
the " wind " and other variations of the overhead cast. 

In order to get this forward cast correctly, it may be 
advisable to imagine that you are now switching forward 
a small portion of clay from the tip of your rod, and that it 
will be this sudden check to the rod action which causes the 
clay to leave the rod and fly forward. 

Similarly will the line, actuatedby the downward switch 
of the rod, unroll itself forward as the rod is checked, bringing 
the fly immediately over the spot on which you wish it to 
alight. 

These instructions should be carefully considered and 
practised for periods of two or three minutes at a time, the 
whole of the exercise not lasting longer than an hour. The 
student should endeavour to direct the end of the line to 
some definite mark on the grass, on which the eye should be 
fixed. A friend may be asked to watch the rod, and to see 
that it does not incline backward beyond the angle shown 
in Plate XVII. 

It is of the first importance that when the line is in the 
air it should always be under the influence of the force 
applied to it by the rod. The wind when against the back 
cast, will frequently destroy the backward energy of the 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 159 



line before it has fully extended itself, the end of the line 
thus becoming dead. The same result will happen if sufficient 
energy be not applied to extend the line fully backward. 
This is a likely source of danger, as the forward switch of the 
rod communicates itself to the dead portion of the line with 
a jerk which may crack off the fly. 

Diagram 12 shows the increase of force given to the rod 
during the forward cast. 

As the student practises and acquires the correct action 
of casting, " shooting " the line will have to be considered 
and will present no difficulties ; therefore, I should not 
advise him to let this adjunct to all perfect casting engage 
his attention just at first. 

I can now condense this lesson into the following 
sentences : — 



Starting from the normal posi- 
tion : — 



HORIZONTAL 





I. Raise the top of the rod vertically to 
an angle of about sixty degrees, or if prac- 
tising over water, until nearly all the line 
is off the surface, don't pause, but 



2. Switch the rod with ever increasing force 
backward, stopping it at an angle of twenty-two 
degrees behind the vertical line of the body. 



ICO 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



3. Keep the rod stationary at this angle until the line 

has extended itself behind yon, and then 

4. Switch the rod downward to its normal position, 

and as the line comes forward 

g 5. Lower the point of the rod as 
^ far as may be advisable until the fly 



alights. 



Condensed into words it 
is as follows: — Raise (to R 3). 
switch back (to R 4) and 
Pause (at R 4). 





Switch down (HR 4 to R 2) 
and lower. 



In these Diagrams — 

S represents the shoulder. 
H „ ,, hand. 

E ,, „ elbow. 

R .. „ rod. 

It must be evident that the more nearly a horizontal 
extension of the line is obtained, the more lightly will it fall 
to the ground. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 161 

The Movements Required when Casting, 
diagrammatically considered 

Practising on the Lawn continued 

It will now be advisable for the student to consider the 
above instruction in a more detailed manner. 

Starting then from the normal position, i.e., with the 
forearm horizontal, the elbow slightly advanced, the angle 
between the upper arm and the forearm being about 
115 degrees, and the rod inclined upward above the horizon 
at an angle of twenty-two degrees (see Diagram 10), the 
attention has to be kept on the tip of the forefinger, which 
is steadily, but with increasing force, raised vertically 
about twelve inches. 

If the rod be kept in its original angle to the forearm 
(see Diagram 10) by an inflexibly controlled wrist, this will 
increase its inclination to about sixty degrees above the 
horizon, and will bring its top ring to about ten feet 
above the lawn, the line being lifted well up by this 
movement. 

The thumb nail should now be about level with the eye, 
and as the elbow has been lifted a few inches and advanced 
still further away from the body, the arm has straightened 
itself somewhat, opening the angle betw^een the forearm and 
the upper arm to about 140 degrees (see S E H Diagram 9). 

The lifting action is not checked, but steadily accelerated 
into a backward cast, and is brought to an abrupt stop by 
the thumb as the forearm attains a vertical position (see 
Diagram 9).* 

The wrist having been kept rigid by the attention devoted 
to the forefinger and the thumb, the rod, as it straightens 
itself, will be inclined backward — at its usual angle to the 

* One of the objects of the accelerando movements of the rod in its backward 
and forward action respectively, is to give the greatest impulse to the line 
at the moment when the rod point is checked. 

12 



162 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



forearm — twenty-two degrees behind the upright (see 
Diagram 9). 

The completed backward cast lifts the line smoothly, but 
with ever increasing velocity from the lawn, and draws it 
after the top of the rod, and, when the muscular force 
ceases, the rod, as it straightens itself, propels the line 
on its backward course. 

After a pause of about one second, a forward, downward 



VERTICAL 




horizontal 

Diagram 9. 

Showing the curvature of the rod during the rise and the backward 

switch of the trout rod. 

and accelerating action of the thumb point, made with a 
rigid wrist, forces the rod in a downward curve, this effort 
stopping suddenly as the forearm arrives at the horizontal 
position (see Diagram 12, Plate XIX.). As the rod 
straightens, the line extends itself horizontally, the fly 
being thus drawn towards its destination. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 163 

The curves shown in Diagrams 9 and 12 made by the 
rod point in the backward and forward casts are dissimilar. 

As the forearm is raised the elbow acts as a moving 
pivot, and moves upward and forward, the shoulder thus 
becoming a second pivot until the lifting movement of the 
rod is converted into the backward action, at which moment 
the pivotal action of the shoulder ceases, and the elbow 
remains a stationary pivot during the rest of the backward 
action (see Diagram 10). 

At the conclusion of the backward motion of the hand 
and after the thumb has checked the rod, a slight raising 
movement of the rod in the upward direction to which it is 
Diagram id. Diagram ii. 



Movements of the hand and elbow in the backward and forward casts. 

H.— Hand. 

E.— Elbow. 

The reel, shown by circles, describes a spherical triangle, as shown in 

Diagram 13, page 176. 

pointing gives a smooth effective finish to the back cast. 
Quite apart from this optional movement, two different 
curves will be made by the rod top in the back cast. In the 
lifting movement the rod point describes a segment of an 
ellipse with the shoulder and elbow as pivotal points, and in 
the backward movement it describes the arc of a circle with 
the elbow as pivot, the compound pivotal movement 
resulting in two curves as shown in Diagram 10. 

In the forward and downward action of the rod one curve 
only is made by the rod point ; the pivotal movements of 



H, 



164 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



the shoulder and elbow, acting together in one movement, 
produce the eUiptical curve as shown in Diagram 12. 

In the forward cast it will be seen that the forearm at 
the end of its downward effort is in a horizontal position, 
but that the direction in which the rod is pointed and held 
in the inflexible grasp of the hand is about twenty-two 
degrees above the horizon, the forearm being inclined 
to the upper arm at an angle of about 112 degrees 
(see Diagram 12). 



VERTICAL 




HORIZONTAL 

Diagram 12. 
Showing the curvature of the rod in the forward cast. 



As the line extends itself forward the elbow is allowed to 
fall back to the side, thus bringing the forearm, which 
finished in the horizontal plane, to twenty-two degrees 
below it, the rod attaining a horizontal position as the line 
drops towards the water (see page 160). 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 165 

It is at the commencement of this final lowering of the 
rod that the slack line should be released in " shooting." 
When the fly has settled on the water, the forearm can be 
again raised as desired to its horizontal, i.e., normal, position 
(see page 160). 

In the backward cast the power gradually applied is 
greater at the beginning of the upward movement, for the 
rod and line have to be lifted, and the latter has to be forced 
from the frictional contact of the water, and though the 
movement of the top of the rod is thus checked, the velocity 
of the hand is accelerated. The higher the rod is lifted the 
less becomes its weight on the forefinger, and the less the 
pull of the water, yet its velocity has to be increased in 
order to keep the bend in the rod and thus to give the greatest 
impulse to the line at the moment at which the backward 
effort ceases. In the forward cast the frictional resistance 
of the water has not to be encountered, and therefore the 
curve becomes more regular and wholly eccentric (see 
Diagram 12), the elbow making one continuous downward 
and backward motion (see E. Diagram 12), the pivotal move- 
ment of the upper arm at the shoulder harmonizing with 
this elliptical curve. 

Practising over Water 

The student should soon acquire the ability to extend 
his line easily and lightly in any desired direction. He 
should always remember to point his right foot and to keep 
his eye directed toward the spot at which he wishes his fly 
to alight. 

When he has acquired accuracy in this important matter, 
he can commence his casting on any available and adjacent 
water. A fairly stout and well-soaked cast of gut, about 
six feet in length, and an artificial fly of fairly large pattern, 
should be attached to the end of his tapered line, the point 



166 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

of the hook being broken off. For his own convenience 
that part of the line he is likely to use, as also the fly, 
should be greased either with bear or mutton fat. 

He should anchor a wooden hoop in the water about 
fifteen yards away, and continue his practice, trying to cast 
the fly within the circle of the hoop, and endeavouring to 
do it in a light and delicate manner. When casting on 
water the necessity of steadily raising the rod before making 
the back cast will be appreciated. 

When about to make the back cast the rod point should 
be lowered towards the water, and if there be any slack 
line it should be drawn in by the left hand. The rod 
should then be raised, gently at first, but with an ever- 
accelerating motion culminating in the backward switch as 
the fly leaves the water. 

It is good practice to attain the fuU extension of the line 
by a series of backward and forward casts without per- 
mitting the line to touch or fall upon the water, the back 
cast being made at the moment the line has extended itself 
forward. It not only enables the beginner to obtain a 
correct action, by striving for the horizontal extension of his 
line, but teaches him the time which it takes for the line to 
extend itself backward, the forward extension being observ- 
able, and occupying the same length of time as that taken 
by the backward extension. 

The Application of Force to the Rod, and its 

Results 

As the rod should be imparting its greatest impulse to the 
line at the instant the backward or the forward action 
ceases, and as the hand, wrist and forearm are at this instant 
rigid, the latent force communicated to and partially held 
by the rod, as shown by its curvature, is now able — as the 
rod straightens itself — to communicate its pent up energy 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 167 

to the line, and it is thereafter the line passes the rod point, 
and, unrolling on itself, pulls the fly backward or forward 
to its destination. (See Diagram 14). 

When a correctly accelerating force is applied to the rod 
with an ordinary length of cast and under ordinary circum- 
stances, the line and fly must travel backward or forward, 
above, or outside the radius, of the top of the rod. 

Misapplied Force when Casting 

If, however, at the commencement or during the backward 
action of the rod a snatching or jerking impulse is given, 
the line will overtake the rod at a lower level than its top 
ring and may collide with it. When a correct impulse 
is given, the rod point should not carry its impetus beyond 
the level at which its switching momentum has been 
checked, for the energy contained in the bend of the rod 
becomes exhausted by the time the rod has straightened 
itself. 

If then, at the end of the downward stroke, the fisherman 
finds his rod vibrating, thrashing the water, or hitting the 
lawn on which he may be practising, he will know that this 
is entirely due to a faulty method of applying force to his 
rod. 

This fault may be compared to that known to golfers as 
" snatching." 

If the backward and forward efforts in casting should be 
from nothing, i.e., a position of inertia, to maximum, or 
in other words be of an accelerating nature, then the reverse 
actions must be wrong. 

To start the rod by a sudden jerking impulse leads to the 
following results : — 

In the forward cast the line is directed upward instead of 
forward. 

The line unrolls on itself in a large curve, and its 



168 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

forward impulse is weakened by the frictional 
resistance of the air through which it has to travel. 
See Diagram 15. 
The jerky impulse communicated to the line causes it to 
overtake the rod point before the forward and down- 
ward cast is finished, and thus releases the bend on 
the rod, which therefore vibrates and imparts a 
prejudicial undulation to the line as it extends 
itself. (See Plate XX.). 

It fails to extend the line. 

It makes it difficult to cast against the wind. 

In the backward cast the line is jerked off the water, and 
not only are the fish scared, but the cane rod is 
strained and the wooden one snapped. 

The rod vibrates at the end of the forward cast, 
and very possibly strikes the water, or the lawn, 
etc. 

I have purposely avoided confusing the student's mind in 
the instructions contained in this chapter by bringing 
in the arguments and the reasons which lie behind the 
mental and physical efforts he has to make in acquiring a 
correct habit of projecting his fly backward and forward in 
the overhead cast, and while I think it quite possible that 
many of my readers might be able to acquire the overhead 
and other casts by carefully studying my directions, I 
feel assured that the greater number of them will appreciate 
a deeper insight into the laws which govern the correct 
method of casting. 

I have yet to convince many fishermen that the methods 
I have originated must eventually supersede certain former 
ideas as to the most correct method of casting a fly, and I 
should consider myself unworthy of the great kindness 
shown and expressed by my clients if I did not make this 



PLATE XIX. 




The Cokkect Duw.wvakd Action of the Trout Rod. 

AND THE EXTENSION OF THE LINE. 

PLATE XX. 




A Faulty Downward Action of the Salmon Rod 

SHOWING THE UNDULATION OF THE LINE. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 169 

work conclusively a scientific treatise, as well as a practical 
aid in casting. 

My theories apply not only to the single-handed rod, but 
also to the double-handed rod, and I have great pleasure in 
publishing in this work, and for the first time, the principles 
which must govern the true method of using the rod when 
spinning from the reel, which principles will be found to be 
capable of as accurate and as scientific a definition as that 
which attends the accurate casting of a trout or salmon 
fly, or which accompanies the art of using a straight bat. 

If the habit of extending the line and fly in the overhead 
cast backward and forward, so that it falls with delicacy and 
accuracy at any desired spot, be acquired as a knack, and 
not as the result of a continued repetition of a carefully 
considered mental process, it will not — even if the knack 
be remembered — assist the fisherman to use his hand or 
hands in any other form of the same cast, or to make any 
other recognized casts. 

When merely the knack of doing a thing is acquired by 
anyone, it is difficult for such an one without a considerable 
amount of mental analysis to explain the methods of doing 
it or to properly instruct others. He may say — " Watch 
me carefully as I do this or that, and try to do the same," 
and his pupil, after more or less labour, may acquire more 
or less knack, but it will not assist the latter to acquire any 
other style of casting, unless he fully analyzes the knack 
he has acquired, finds out exactly what his muscles are 
doing, and then determines the mental processes which 
should be applied to the muscles in order to carry out 
any new cast. 

If he knows what he has to think of in order to get 
his muscles to do their work, he can, when he knows how the 
rod should be moved in any one style of casting, be able to 
vary the mental process by which his former action was 



170 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

performed, and rapidly achieve success in this new method 
of casting a fly.* 

Wrist and Arm Action 

At no time when in the act of casting with a single-handed 
rod should the relationship between the rod, the hand, the 
wrist and the forearm be relaxed. Just as the metal sockets 
of each rod joint form the different lengths of the rod into 
one vibrant whole — so should the hand, with as subconscious 
a mental effort as that which controls the grasp of the 
fingers on the pen or pencil with which we are writing, 
make the forearm into another and final length of the 
rod. 

To learn to do this " attention " must be maintained in 
the mind and concentrated on the finger and thumb of the 
hand when holding the rod during practice, and continued 
until the muscles are controlled subconsciously — that is, 
until a correct habit of thus holding and using the rod is 
formed. 

The line, being always attached to the rod, is affected 
by its every movement, and it is necessary, therefore, that 
the rod should travel through definite arcs, through definite 
planes, and with definite velocities, having a definite pivotal 
action, and being actuated by definite muscles. If the 
thumb and fingers holding the rod are loosened, or a wrist 
action is enforced, the hand loses the aid of the principal 
muscles of the forearm, and a weakened impulse is all that 
can be communicated to the rod, to the line, and to the fly, 
by the muscles controlling the wrist. The wrist is, or should 
be, kept under rigid control during the whole time in which 
the hand is employed, either when holding the rod when the 

* " Let the young angler be content with doing what he does do well ; 
increasing his range of practice by little and slow degrees, and making sure 
fishing of every extra foot he gains." — A Work on Angling, 1885, by- 
Francis Francis. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 171 

fly is being cast, or when the rod is extended in the act of 
fishing. 

When I refer to the mistake of bending the wrist and to 
the action so frequently alluded to by fishermen as a 
" delicate wrist action," I mean that bending of the wrist, 
which permits the hand to move as a hinge to and fro in 
the same plane as that in which the fingers and thumb are 
fixed. 

Now the beginner will have to decide whether he will use 
those muscles which are always brought into play when 
any determined and controlled effort is made which affects 
the raising, lifting, or other motion of any article held between 
the fingers and the thumb — or whether he will attempt to 
educate muscles which have neither by evolution or practice 
been used when thus lifting a weight. 

The muscles controlling the wrist are intended, and are 
used, by man for the main purpose of keeping the wrist 
rigid, in order that the muscles of the forearm can supply 
their energy to the work which has to be done by the hand. 
The mental processes controlling our hand movements 
have, through the many and repeated efforts and struggles 
of childhood and youth, become so intimately a portion of 
our every action, that the thought of any movement of a 
finger or the thumb is sufficient to stiffen the wrist and thus 
permit their control by the muscles of the forearm. The 
muscles in the forearm are thus subconsciously controlled 
by the brain to this purpose, and it is only with the greatest 
difficulty we can acquire any other mental habit which will 
enable us to utilize other and less trained muscles to carry out 
our desires in any but our accustomed manner. Hence the 
difficulty of learning to cast by means of a separate muscular 
movement of the wrist. 

The action of the rod on the line when casting a fly is 
of an uncoiling nature : the word " throw " as expressing 



172 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

the action of casting the fly, leads to confusion in the mind 
of the beginner, who, associating the word " throw " with 
its usual application, uses the muscles of his arm in an 
endeavour, by a throwing action, to get his fly forward to 
its destination. But the idea of " throwing " the fly, i.e., 
making a " forward " throwing action with the rod, should 
be banished from the mind, and the brain used in a different 
sequence of thought. 

Unfortunately the ideas handed down to us by past 
authorities on the art of fly casting have resulted in our 
attempting to alter this universal method of using the 
forearm muscles in our every day action, with a result which 
has made effective fly casting a habit most difficult and most 
tedious to acquire. Such a variation of a habit effectually 
displaces the natural dependence we repose in the judgment 
of our own senses, and those who effect the backward and 
forward action of their rod by a mentally determined move- 
ment of the wrist lose the ability to distinguish readily and 
without a more or less prolonged trial, the most common 
and gravest fault in all single-handed rods, viz., the hit. 

The rod should become, so far as its action is concerned, 
a portion of the forearm, and its elasticity should merge into 
the elasticity of the holder, or otherwise there will be a point 
at which an abrupt change from one to another state of 
elasticity takes place. This more or less abrupt change 
does occur between each joint of the rod, but the strain of 
this is borne by the rigid metal sockets, and the mechanical 
skill of the rod maker is thus able to merge the elasticity of 
the top joint into that of the middle joint, and of the middle 
point into the butt end; and, if the rod has a good action, 
this elasticity should merge through the hand used as 
another socket — by the wrist into the forearm, and thus it 
is the muscles of the forearm which should do the work, 
and the elbow becomes the pivot of the action of the rod. 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 173 

If the rod, however well its action be modulated, from the 
top to its handle, does not continue to modulate itself into 
the elasticity of the arm, there will be a hit, and this hit, 
though perhaps unobserved when the muscles which control 
the arm, wrist or hand are fresh and untired, soon becomes 
^ apparent when the rod is in constant use, and after a few 
minutes, an hour, or a few hours, as the case may be, the 
amount of this hit will most assuredly draw the owner's 
attention to the relative quality of this defect. 

The dry fly rod then, whose parts are so relatively con- 
structed as to give the best results when projecting the line 
and fiy, and which brings the least strain on the wrist of the 
fisherman, will be the one in which no hit can be distinguished 
when casting with the elbow as pivot, with the muscles of 
the forearm as the force, and the wrist as an inflexible 
connection — making the forearm and the rod into a vibrant 
whole from the elbow to the top ring. 

An Appreciation of the above Methods 
It is with much pleasure that I insert the following 
letter which I have recently received from a gentleman 
well-known in athletic circles, and one of the keenest 
sportsmen I have had the pleasure of meeting. 

" 26th April, 1 913. 
" Dear Mr. Shaw, — I must write you a short 
line of thanks for the most excellent lessons you have 
given me in casting. I finished them with the feeling 
that for the first time I really know something about 
the handling of a fly — and spinning rod, and that I 
thoroughly understand the principles on which 
the various casts depend. I never realized before the 
degree of power and accuracy which was possible 
with a rod, or that it could be attained so rapidly and 
by methods so simple. I do not think that I can 
describe in fewer or more laudatory words the peculiar 



174 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

excellence of your system of manipulation and 
teaching. It seems to me that anyone of reasonable 
capacity, by grasping and following out your instruc- 
tions, can get a ' regularity of pattern ' impossible 
under any system less thorough ; there is between 
yours and any other teaching that I have ever 
received, the whole difference between what is 
scientific and what is merely empirical. 

" May I say further that it seems to me that to 
any one who can practise it, your system affords 
a very satisfactory test of rods and lines. Uniformity 
of method in casting requires uniformity of rod- 
action ; the one must accompany the other if 
satisfactory results are to be obtained. Anyone 
who has acquired your method of casting, should 
therefore, be able to know by the feel of a rod whether 
it is a good one or not ; accurate mechanical action 
should give an accurate mechanical test. If, as I 
believe, I am right in holding this view, the gain to 
your pupils should be a double one ; not merely should 
they be able to cast, but also to choose themselves 
a suitable weapon. I do not think that there is a 
better proof of the scientific soundness of your 
method. 

" Moreover, by insisting not merely upon accurate 
movements, but upon the principles that underlie 
them, you can provide your pupils with a basis upon 
which they can continue and extend your lessons 
for themselves. I wish that this science of physical 
motion could be applied to other branches of athletics. 
I am inclined to think that the results would be 
surprising. 

" Believe me, 

" With many thanks, 
" Yours truly, 

" F C :" 

Now, as we have already seen, all that is necessary in 
order to make an accurate cast forward is — first, an extension 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 175 

of the line backward in a direction away from the place at 
which the fly has to alight, and — secondly, an accurate 
extension of the line and fly forward in the plane in which 
the eye, the toe, and the fish are situated, and therefore 
the mental process and the attendant muscular exertion 
best suited to this desired result should first of all be 
comprehended, then practised and thus made into a habit. 

The only perfect way to acquire any habit which is worth 
learning is through the mind. The mental consideration 
of how to perform any action leads to its perfect physical 
performance. 

This performance is achieved, however, through a sub- 
conscious action of the brain — previously acquired — 
so long as the performer is sane and healthy in mind and 
body. In other words, there is no such thing as a reflex 
action of the muscles which carries out that which can 
be considered a habit. No purely muscular action can be 
regarded as a habit. The brain of man may appreciate 
and enable him to repeat any action and he may make such 
an action into a habit, but this alone is purely acquiring the 
habit as a knack, and so long as the brain is in touch with 
the muscles he can perform this knack. 

But when in addition to the appreciation necessary to 
acquire a knack, the brain analyzes the action, comprehends 
the muscular movements which have to be made, and en- 
forces on the muscles of the body a similar action, and by 
repetition of such thought forms a habit, it can no longer 
be considered as being learned as a knack. 

In learning to cast the fly with a single-handed rod, the 
different movements required of the hand and arm are 
simple ones, which we have been accustomed to make many 
times each day of our life, and each of such movements has 
thus become a separate habit. It is not therefore the 
difficulty of making each of these movements, but of 



176 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

co-ordinating them in a sequence which will result in 
casting a fly properly. 

I have by analysis dissected the mental and physical 
processes which result in a perfect method of casting, and 
have stripped every unnecessary item from the sequence of 
thought which is absolutely required. 

The mental process of the student should therefore follow 
the outline which I have thus presented to his notice, which 
consists of three movements of the hand — the upward, the 




Diagram 13. 

Showing the three movements of 

the hand in making the overhead 

cast. 

AB — Raise. 
BC— Back. 
CA — Down. 



backward, and the downward — or to make the matter still 
more plain, an action of the hand which follows the 
perpendicular, the base and the hypothenuse of an inverted 
right-angled spherical triangle. This mental process should 
be adhered to until it is made into a habit, and the 
skeleton work should not be reclothed by the thoughts and 
ideas of the beginner when practising. 

Diagram 13, illustrates not only the three movements 
of the hand in making the overhead or side casts with the 



THE SCIENCE OF CASTING A TROUT FLY 177 

single handed rod, but also the movements made by the 
upper hand on the salmon rod when making similar 
casts. It will be seen that these movements form the 
side of an inverted right angled spherical triangle, the 
upward movement describing the perpendicular, the back- 
ward movement the base, and the downward movement 
the hypothenuse of such a triangle. 



13 



CHAPTER X 
DIFFERENT METHODS AND STYLES OF CASTING 

Casting a long distance — ^The Wind cast — ^Trout rod — ^The Wye cast — 
The Steeple and Galway casts — The Side cast — The Loop cast — 
The Loop cast for the trout rod — ^The Switch cast — ^The Spey cast 
or throw — The Loop cast instead of the Spey throw — Shooting the 
line — Force used in casting — The drag also the sag — Avoiding the 
drag. 

The following methods of throwing a fly will embrace 
every distinctive kind of cast which can be made with 
a single-handed trout fly-rod, and I think they will be 
found to overcome every difficulty met with when 
fly fishing. 

A separate chapter is devoted to casting a fly with a two- 
handed rod, but there is no difference in the angles or 
directions through which the latter kind of rod will move, 
and no other than a relative difference in the force which is 
applied. The only difference is that two hands are used 
instead of one, and the main pivot of the cast is not the 
elbow of one arm, but a point in the rod handle, which is 
situated midway between the two hands when holding the 

rod. 

The reader will, I think, understand from what has gone 
before, that the pivot of either the single or double-handed 
rod action is in reality a moving and not a stationary one 
(see Diagrams 163), 

The action of the two-handed rod is slower and not so 
brilliant as the single-handed rod, and the line as a con- 
sequence is relatively slower in its backward and forward 
motions. 

178 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 179 

Casting a Long Distance 

When endeavouring to " get out " a particularly long 
line, you must always remember that you can cast forward 
a greater length of line than you can lift off the water. The 
final back cast should be of such a length that you are 
absolutely certain of not only lifting your line off the water, 
but of extending it behind you in a live state — i.e., so that 
every portion of the line should be still under the influence 
of its initial backward impetus when you make your final 
forward cast. 

The secret of long-distance casting, therefore, consists in 
the actual knowledge of the greatest length of line which 
you can lift and cast backward and forward in a live state, 
and the ability to shoot, i.e., get out the greatest amount of 
line in your forward cast. To be able to cast a long, and 
at the same time an accurate and delicate line is of inestim- 
able use at times when dry fly fishing. The greater the 
distance at which you can reach your fish, the less necessity 
there is to crouch, crawl, etc., and it may be taken as an 
axiom that he who can from his skill and experience cast a 
long and delicate line can with equal ease, and even greater 
accuracy, cast his fly over any intermediate distance. 

It is sometimes averred that the ability to cast a long 
distance is useless, because of the greater difficulty in quickly 
striking a fish, but those who recommend a pause between 
the rise and the strike should not complain on this account. 
There are rises of trout which can only be covered by a 
long cast, and for this reason alone the ability to cast a long 
distance should be practised. That a strike can be more 
quickly made, when a short line is being used, goes without 
question, but unless a fisherman has practised long casting 
he will be unable to take advantage of the chance offered 
when trout are rising at a greater distance from him than 
usual, either on a lake or river. 



180 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Lightness in picking the line off the water when making 
the back cast is one of the important factors to successful 
dry fly fishing, for more fish are scared, i.e., put down, by 
the disturbance caused by lifting the line in a faulty back 
cast, than by a faulty forward one. It is therefore most 
important to remember that, prior to the back cast being 
made, the rod top should be lowered to the water 
and all the slack line gathered in by the left hand, and that 
the rod should then be raised quietly and steadily upward, 
but with a slightly accelerated motion, until the cast and 
fly are about to leave the water, when the final flicking 
backward motion should be given to the rod. 

Lightness in the forward cast, as before mentioned, is 
achieved by extending the line and cast horizontally before 
it drops on to the water. 

The Wind Cast 

A head wind was, until the last few years, regarded as one 
of the greatest difficulties, if not really the greatest, against 
which the fly fisherman had to contend, but this view has 
now practically disappeared. In " The Science of Dry Fly 
Fishing," 1905, I say : — 

" If the wind be against the fisherman, the downward action 
of the forward overhead cast should be finished still lower." 

This advice is sound, and cannot be improved, remember- 
ing always that the wrist has to be kept rigid, and that the 
force applied culminates as the rod is checked at the 
conclusion of the downward effort. 

If the downward action of the rod be made with a stiff 
wrist, and an ever-increasing force until it is checked below 
its normal level, the line and fly will be propelled forward at a 
lower level than usual, and the line will in consequence 
have considerably less ongoing curvature (see Diagrams 14 
and 15), and the frictional resistance of the wind, which the 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 181 

line has to meet, will have less chance of affecting the forward 
extension of the line ere the fly reaches its destination. 

The fly will have been brought to a point just above its 
destination on the water, on which it will drop with less 
danger of its being blown back, than there would be if its 
ongoing motion ceased when it was some two or three feet 
above the surface. 

In other words, the less the curvature of the line as it 
unrolls itself forward, the less will it be checked by the 
frictional resistance of the air. 



HORIZONTAL 



Diagram 14 
H R T Rod checked at this angle in downward action leads to 
CL Small curvature made by advancing line. 

The difference in the advancing curvature of the line in 
the forward cast when the rod is checked at two different 
points in its downward course, is shown in Diagrams 14 and 
15, and the reader will at once appreciate the very much 
smaller surface which the line in Diagram 14 presents to the 
wind when the rod action is finished well down. 

The Wye Cast 
We must now consider the best method of placing the fly 
in any spot other than that from which it has to be lifted. 



182 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



When casting either with the single-handed or with the 
double-handed rod, in the overhead cast, unless the fly 
in the forward cast be returned to some place in the same 
plane from which it is taken, it can only be cast to some 
place in some new plane, and obviously this plane must be 
either to the right or left hand of the plane it has just left. 
Directly this fact is appreciated, many of the difficulties 
which apparently accompany the consideration of the various 




HORIZONTAL 



Diagram 15. 
HT Rod checked at this angle in downward action leads to 
C L Large curvature made by advancing line. 



casts which can or should be employed must vanish — for 
every cast made with a fly rod must be some variation of 
the principle which enables the fisherman to cast backward 
and forward in one plane, or from one plane into some other 
plane, i.e., either from right to left, or left to right. 

I introduced in the first edition of " The Science of Dry 
Fly Fishing," 1906, a cast I called the " Wye " cast — in the 
following words : — 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 183 

" The line must be first extended as much as possible 
directly away from the spot at which the fly has to alight. 
To do this a curved backward side motion of the point of 
the rod must be made in the opposite direction, and while 
this is being made, the body must have turned so as 
to face toward the spot at which the fly has to alight ; 
and on the time and the manner of this combined 
movement will depend the success of the cast in the new 
direction." 

But although the success which met the introduction of 
the Wye cast, and which attended its use by my clients, was 
great, I was never thoroughly satisfied as to the scientific 
soundness of the method I was advocating. 

I now employ a new adaptation of this " Wye " cast, 
which after most careful thought and trial, I consider by 
far the best method of casting a fly out of one plane into 
another, so long as the rod, line and fly can be brought back 
in the new plane in which it has to be cast. 

The alterations of the movements of the single-handed 
rod when fishing up-stream are made as occasion demands, 
from right to left, or left to right ; but when fishing down 
stream so long as the fisherman remains on one bank his 
cast should always be made across and down-stream. 

It will thus be seen that in both styles of fishing the only 
variations possible are from right to left and from left to 
right. 

We will assume that the reader is teaching himself to 
perfect this cast over grass, and that therefore he can make 
his movements more deliberately than he could if he were 
casting over water. The different positions which follow 
these movements can be checked by reference to the 
respective figures in Plate XXI. When he has learnt to make 
the different movements correctly, he can run these move- 
ments into one continuous action, and I should therefore 



184 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

advise him in the first place to do nothing other than 
acquire the different movements one by one, referring to 
the respective figures in Plate XXI. 

He should first raise his rod steadily upward in the plane 
into which it has been pointing, see Plate XXI., Figure 1, 
until it is inclined upward at an angle of about sixty 
degrees above the horizon. He should then turn toward 
the direction in which he has to cast, leaving his arm 
and his rod as shown in Figure 3. He should now 
swing his hand and rod round at the same level, keeping 
his rod pointed at the same angle of the horizon — into the 
plane in which he is now facing, until they come between 
his eye and the spot at which he desires the fly to alight, 
see Plate XXL, Figure 4. The backward and forward cast 
should now be made as in the overhead cast. 

The hand and rod move in an S-shaped switch, when 
making that portion of the Wye cast between Figure 1 
and the finish of the backward action, the first movement 
being upward, the second horizontal, and the third move- 
ment backward. 

When the separate parts of this cast are thoroughly 
learnt, the student should, as stated above, make them in 
one continuous accelerating motion. 

When fishing dry fly he can cast as follows : — Before 
raising his rod from the No. 1 position, he should turn 
in the first place towards the spot to which he desires to 
cast, then by raising the rod to the required height in the 
old plane and swinging it with increasing force into the new 
plane, he merges it into the backward part of the overhead 
method of casting. 

Wet Fly Fishing with the Wye Cast. 

When fishing wet fly, after finishing out a cast, the 
line and fly will be extended down-stream under his 



PLATE XXI. 



S3r-T- 



1 




J^nc^ 




V 


m 








/ 


f" - 


\ 


'•^^^^H 


1 




i- 






r 


■.J 


b 


-jsni 








m 


■W9« 


-■ . ■- . 



I. SLIGHTLY RAISING THE ROD. 



2. THE TOP OF THE RISE. 





:«$«?»■ 



3. TACING INTO THE .NEW TLANE. 



4. THE ROD AS IT SWI.NGS INTO THE NEW PLANE. 
THE OVERHEAD CAST IS NOW MADE AS BEFORE. 



The Wye C.\st with the Trout Kod. 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 185 

own bank, and having decided to make the Wye cast 
across-stream, the fisherman glances backward to a 
point immediately opposite to where he wishes his fly 
to alight. 

If there be no danger in this new plane, he should lower the 
point of his rod to the water and gather in by the hand as 
much of his line as he deems necessary — keeping the point 
of his rod well down when doing so. He then faces across 
stream toward the spot on which his fly has to alight, and, 
after he has turned, steadily lifts the point of the rod 
upwards in the plane in which it has been pointing, and 
then sideways with a gradually accelerated pace into the 
plane in which he now wishes to cast. If the movement 
is properly made the rod point will be elevated from sixty 
to seventy-five degrees above the water, and be between his 
eye and the direction in which he has to cast. By this time 
the cast is about leaving the water, the fisherman gives 
the final flicking impetus of this back cast away from the 
spot at which the fly has to alight, and finishes the cast 
forward and downward as before. 

The student will notice that the methods of making the 
Wye cast when fishing up-stream or down-stream are 
identical, and are the same with the single-handed or the 
double-handed rod. 

It will be seen by this method that the cast can be 
made from any spot either to the right or left hand with 
either hand uppermost, when fishing from either the right 
or left bank of the river. Other advantages of this variation 
of the Wye cast are as follows — A greater degree of accuracy 
is obtained and the line, if the backward cast is properly 
made, clears the dangers on the fisherman's banks, for it is 
brought out from the bank and towards the stream by this 
first movement of the back cast, instead of being pulled 
around and over these dangers, etc. 



186 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The Steeple and Galway Casts 
The Steeple cast, which is sometimes used to send the 
line in the backward cast clear of bushes, trees, and other 
dangers behind the fisherman, is somewhat similar to the 
overhead cast. In the backward movement the effort is 
upward rather than backward, the force being applied in the 
upward part of the back cast. The rod is swung upward, 
instead of being lifted, and the arm is extended to its full 
length above, and slightly behind, the vertical line of the 
body. The right shoulder, the side, the hip, the leg and the 
foot, can also swing round with the arm as the stroke is 
made, the weight of the body at the end of the back stroke 
being supported on the flat of the right foot and the fore 
part of the left foot. Before casting forward, and while the 
line is still travelling upward and backward, the elbow 
should be dropped, the right foot brought forward, and 
the line returned in the vertical plane as in the overhead 
cast. 

A much safer, more effective, and prettier cast, however, 
which I have introduced in order to surmount or avoid 
dangers which may lie in the direction which the backward 
cast is required to take, and which entirely supersedes the 
Steeple cast, is a variation of the Galway cast described 
later vmder Salmon Fly Casting, in chapter XVII. and 
illustrated in Plates XXII. and XXIII. 

The Galway cast with the trout rod should be made as 
follows : — in the backward cast, as the line is steadily raised 
from the water, the body turns on the ankles to the 
right or left hand, until it faces the direction in which the 
fly has to go, and at the same time the hand holding the 
rod is turned or twisted round to the left or to the right 
respectively until the thumb is on that side of the rod from 
which the line is being drawn, and the reel towards the 
direction to which the back cast has to be made. By the 



PLATE XXII. 



J 



^'^.t-^ ' 







.-*. K.-'v. _?* if 



The Back Movement of the Galway Cast with the Trout Rod made 
OVER THE Head of the Photographer. 

PLATE XXIII. 




^ 

'l*^ 



The Galway Cast made over the Top of an Imaginary Small Tree. 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 187 

time this movement of the body has been made, the rod 
should have risen to an angle of seventy-five degrees 
above the water. The backward cast has now to be 
made, and it has become a forward cast in the backward 
direction, and is one in which the direction of the line can 
be accurately gauged so as to avoid the danger of its being 
hung up, the idea being to send the line either upward and 
over the danger or to clear it to one or other side, and 
therefore the effort made to that end naturally affects the 
direction and the angle in which the rod is brought down. 
Immediately the back cast is made, the body again turns to 
its original position in order to cast the fly forward to its 
destination, the twisting movement of the hand is reversed, 
and, if the turning movement be not delayed, by the time 
the line has extended itself the rod and the body will be in 
the position shown in Plate XVII., and the forward cast can 
then be made in the ordinary way. ' 

Two Plates are given showing the Galway cast being made 
over the left shoulder, Plate XXII., to clear the photographer 
and Plate XXIII. to clear an imaginary tree situated in a 
similar position. The backward action has been made, and 
the line is shown more or less extending itself to clear the 
above-mentioned dangers. The Galway cast with the 
double-handled rod is also illustrated. See Plates XLIII. 
and XLIV.). 

The Side Cast 

The right or left side cast is made with a precisely similar 
rod action to the overhead cast, and both left and right hand 
side casts can be made with either hand. The rod is brought 
back more or less horizontally to the right or left side of the 
body and returned in the same plane, the object being to 
prevent the line rising to any height in the air, and is useful 
when casting to or from under trees, under culverts, or up 
narrow, over-grown streams. 



188 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

In making the right hand side cast the body should turn 
on the ankles toward the right, and the rod should be brought 
back as in the overhead cast, but sideways and with the 
palm of the hand up, the rod being stopped in its backward 
action by the thumb. The elbow acts as a pivot to the rod, 
which is switched backwards through a more or less hori- 
zontal arc of 115 degrees. The turn of the body has to 
precede the backward action of the rod, so that the eye 
can judge the exact moment at which the thumb has to 
check the rod as the latter reaches the limit of the 
above angle. 

It is only by a continued and ever increasing backward 
force applied to the rod through the hand and wrist from 
the forearm that the best and most perfect impetus can be 
communicated to the line in order to extend it in the back- 
ward direction. The best result of this force cannot be 
communicated from the forearm to the rod unless a rigid 
control over the wrist be maintained during the time the 
fly is in the air. 

The position of the arm and rod at the conclusion of the 
back cast is as follows : The upper arm points downward, 
but is free from the body — the forearm and hand with a 
rigid wrist is extended palm up, in a line with the rod, which 
is held rigidly at an angle of 115 degrees to the right or left 
of the direction in which the fly has to alight. 

As the rod is checked at this angle by the thumb, the body 
should again turn forward, the eyes being directed towards 
the spot to which the fly has to be cast — the forearm and 
rod must remain pointing backward until this turn is 
completed — by which time the line will have extended 
itself backward. 

The forward stroke should then be made through the thumb 
from the elbow with a similar muscular effort to that used in 
the backward cast, but in a forward horizontal direction. 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 189 

To get a clearer idea of the angles made by the rod in the 
backward and forward motions of the side cast, the reader 
should take Diagrams 8 and 9 as being the horizontal 
instead of the vertical angles through which the rod passes. 

As accuracy can be obtained by the fisherman when using 
the side cast, this cast is in my opinion the best and most 
effective one ; its advantages over the overhead cast are 
as follows : — The rod is certainly less noticeable from the 
fish's point of view — and it can, in the side cast, be used 
under almost any circumstances. It is the easiest method 
of getting the fly under bushes, or when casting from under 
trees, shrubs, etc., and it certainly causes the fly to alight on 
the water with its wings more perfectly cocked than in the 
overhead manner. 

The advantage that the overhead cast has over the side 
cast, is that it gives absolute accuracy and permits the 
fisherman to raise his line from the water more easily and 
with greater delicacy, and it is not quite so fatiguing. 

In the side cast, in order to make the backward cast 
with a fairly long line, the rod has to be first lifted as much 
as possible, so as to bring the line well to the surface of the 
water and then brought down to the level in which the 
side cast has to be made. It has then to be continued 
into the backward cast, the rod being checked as before 
stated. This backward movement has to be made in a 
slightly inclining upward plane. 

The Loop Cast for the Single or Double Handed Rod 

The Loop cast of the double or single-handed rod is made 
when danger exists both behind and to either side of the 
fisherman, and is sometimes useful when there is a strong 
wind blowing against the back cast, and when, as a conse- 
quence of these dangers or difficulties, the line cannot be 
sent backward or to either side. 



190 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The rod is steadily raised upward and backward to an 
angle of about twenty-two degrees behind the vertical 
position of the fisherman, but inclining slightly to his right 
or left hand side. The line by this movement will be 
drawn back along the water, and a slight backward curve, 
as in Plate XLV., will be made to the right or left hand side, 
but well clear of the angler's shoulder. As the rod arrives 
at this position its movement is altered into an upward, 
forward and downward switch. The line, which has been 
drawn after the top of the rod in this continuous 
movement, will be held at the finish of the downward 
switch by the rod point, and will curl over it and thus 
extend itself over the water in the direction in which the 
downward switch is made. 

In this Plate the fly, which has been raised from the 
water, is being returned to the same spot from which it was 
taken, but in Plates XXIV., XLVI. and XLVII. the line 
and fly have been raised from a position to the right or left 
hand of the fisherman, and are being returned — as shown 
in these Plates — in a new plane to a new spot. This move- 
ment is effected by first raising the rod as described above 
to a position about twenty-two degrees behind the shoulder, 
and as the motion of the rod is being continued the body 
and feet are turned towards the spot at which the fly has to 
alight, and the forward and downward action of the rod is 
completed as before, but is now made in the new plane, 
as shown on the plates above mentioned. 

Like most of the curved casts it is extremely simple, and 
any difficulty there may be lies in the fact that the beginner 
will be nearly certain to make two distinct actions — a 
backward and a forward one — as in his straight overhead 
casts, forgetting that both of these are merged into a con- 
tinuous motion. The backward movement of the rod should 
be neither a jerk nor a switch, but a very steady pulling 




u 

fc 
o 
o 

w 
H 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 191 

action which is continued in an upward and forward, and 
then converted into an ever increasing downward impulse, 
which is checked as the hand reaches the horizontal. 

The Loop Cast for the Trout Rod 

Plates XXIV. and XXV. show the end of the loop cast 
with the single-handed rod, the danger being immediately 
behind the fisherman. The line has just left the water and 
the disturbance it has made on the surface is clearly shown 
to the immediate right of the fisherman in the latter plate. 

In this plate the rod point has been raised in the ordinary 
way by a steady upward action, but instead of its being 
switched backward from the water, the drawing action of 
the hand is continued backward slightly to the right hand 
side of the fisherman, until the rod attains its usual angle of 
twenty-two degrees behind the vertical, and is slightly 
inclined to the right of the body. This backward move- 
ment of the hand is now converted into a slightly upward 
action by lifting the arm, and the cast terminates in the 
usual forward and downward switch of the rod. The wrist 
has been kept rigid, the line has curled forward after the rod 
point, and the disturbance to the right of the fisherman 
shows where it has just left the surface. Briefly, then, 
the action of the hand controlling the rod has been first 
upward and then backward, and then continued in an 
upward and forward circling action into the forward and 
downward switch. See Plate XXIV. 

The Switch Cast 

This cast, which is a side loop, bears the same relationship 
to the loop cast that the side cast does to the overhead 
cast. 

It is made when the rod can neither be brought back 
vertically, or the line extended backward in the plane in 



192 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

which it has already been extended forward, and in which 
plane it has to be returned. 

The slack of the line is first gathered in as the rod is 
lowered to the water, and the rod point is then steadily 
raised in order to get the line well on the surface of the water 
It is then brought back horizontally by a steady side move- 
ment, through a horizontal angle of about 110 degrees. This 
movement is then converted into a steady upward circular 
movement until the rod top is as high as the overhanging 
obstacles will allow, and it is then brought forward in an 
accelerating side cast towards its destination. The height 
at which the forward action of the rod can be made is 
determined by the overhanging danger — the tree, the arch 
of the bridge, or culvert, etc., etc. 

The first portion of this cast is obviously very simple ; 
the line and fly are not flicked off the water, but follow back 
along the surface as the rod moves backward. 

The latter portion of the cast, however, owing to its 
more limited scope of action, requires more practice than 
the loop cast, before the correct forward loop of the line 
is created by the forward movement of the point of 
the rod. 

The wrist must be kept stiff, although the hand, as in 
the side cast, has to be twisted palm up, so that the thumb 
precedes the rod as it is brought back sideways, and as the 
circular and forward switching movement begins the thumb 
is thus able to force the rod forward. 

The Spey Cast or Throw 

The Spey cast is a variation of the Loop and Switch, and 
has to be made when it is desired to cast the line and fly out 
of one plane into another, that is, to cast the fly from right 
to left when the rod has to be used on the left side of the 
body, and from left to right when the rod has to be used 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 193 

on the right side of the body. The most common use 
which this cast is put to is in making a new cast when 
fishing down-stream. After a cast has been fished out, the 
line of the fisherman will have been worked round more or 
less under his own bank, and a fresh cast has now to be 
made in order to extend the fly more or less across the pool 
or portion of the river which has to be fished. 

The easiest and most useful cast for this purpose is the 
Wye cast, as described on page 181. As directed, the 
fisherman looks backward and away from the new position 
in which he wishes his fly to fall, and if everything is clear 
for extending the line in the new plane, he should make the 
Wye cast, but if any dangers exist in this plane, he may then 
adopt some variation^of the Spey cast. When making the 
Spey throw there must be a more less extension of the line 
in a curve up-stream, and just how much curve can be 
made in this extension will depend on the proximity of the 
dangers in the background. 

Taking the danger as being close to and parallel with the 
bank on which the fisherman stands (see Plate XXVI.), if is 
obvious, first, that any great extension of the line behind 
him is impossible, and secondly, that the complete extension 
of the line up-stream will place his line in a position almost 
as difficult to cast from as that in which it now lies — that 
is, if a cast has to be made more or less across-stream (see 
Plate XXVI.). 

But by now adopting a combination of the Loop and Switch 
casts, called the " Spey Throw," he is able by an up-stream 
motion to get, first, a certain extension only of his line 
up-stream, leaving the balance of the line well on the top of 
the water down-stream, or secondly, to lift his line from the 
water by a modified up-stream side cast, and deposit it on 
the water just above and clear of the plane in which his 
line has to travel across-stream. 

14 



194 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Before making the up-stream action it is better to turn 
toward the direction in which the fly has to travel. The 
up-stream curve can then be made, and the rod movement 
continued in an upward and backward swing into the new 
plane ; and the Spey throw is completed by merging this 
into the forward and downward switch. See Plate XXVI. 

He will thus give the up-stream belly of his line enough 
impetus in the right direction to cause it to drag the rest 
of the line off the water in a loop and to bring his fly across 
stream in the new and desired direction. 

The curve of his line by which he has effected this cast has 
never been extended sufficiently behind him to foul the 
dangers of the bank, and that portion of the line on the water 
never gets into danger, as it only leaves the surface as it is 
dragged forward by the impetus of the looping action of the 
rod and upper part of the line. The danger in the first 
method of making the up-stream action of the Spey cast 
is that the rod, in its downward action, may foul the line 
as it is being lifted up from the water in its forward motion. 

In the Spey cast (Plate XXVI.), the danger is again close 
to and behind the fisherman. The line, which has been 
extended down stream, has to be propelled at an angle of 
about sixty degrees across the water. As stated above, the 
fisherman must first turn with his back to the danger, and 
face the direction in which he wishes to cast. He should 
then draw his line up-stream sideways to his right, and by 
then raising his rod point upwards, and backwards in a 
circling action, convert this into the forward and downward 
action of the rod.* 

By switching down with the correct action, the line, at the 
conclusion of the downward action of the hand — urged 
forward by the gradually increasing force of the downward 

* The Plates and Diagrams under the head of the Salmon Rod will illustrate 
these casts when made by the trout rod. 



PLATE XXV. 




The End of the Loop Cast with the Trout Rod. 

NOTICE THE DISTURBANCE OF THE WATER AS THE LINE UNROLLS FORWARD. 



PLATE XXVI. 




The End of Spey Throw with the Trout Rod, 

NOTICE THE DISTURBANCE TO THE LEFT AS THE LINE LEAVES THE WATER. 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 195 

switch and the after-straightening of the rod itself — shoots 
forward in the desired direction, and gradually unrolling 
on itself, finally brings the fly to the required spot. 

The end of the line, in the Loop, the Switch and the 
Spey casts, is held by the water, and thus prevented from 
fouling the danger behind the fisherman, the downward 
movement of the rod being followed by the unrolling action 
of the line as it leaves the water and is propelled forward. 

In Plate XXVI. the disturbance caused by the end of 
the line leaving the water is shown in the left foreground 
of the picture. The difficulty of this cast consists in avoiding 
the fouling of the line by the rod in its downward action. 
With an ordinary length of the line it means either making 
the action of the rod more or less of a switching character, 
and making the downward cut of the rod with a slanting 
down-stream action, instead of a directly vertical downward 
action in the desired plane, or by drawing or lifting the line 
and letting it fall sufficiently backward, i.e., clear — to the 
right of the fisherman, the downward forward action of the 
rod not being made directly over the line cannot, there- 
fore, foul it (see Plate XLIX., Salmon). 

The former is the easier and the more scientific method — 
the latter by far the most difficult to acquire. If both are 
done well, there is but little to choose in the ultimate 
results of either method. 

The various attempts to explain how this useful cast is 
made, appear to me to be varied only by the individual 
methods of each fisherman, who has had to work out his 
own method of making his " Spey throw." 

The Loop Cast instead of the Spey Throw 

When wading and when danger is close behind, the 
Spey cast as just described can be very conveniently dis- 
carded for the Loop cast (see p. 329). The Loop cast has 



196 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

this advantage, that it can be made without any danger of 
fouling the line. (See Plates XLVI. and XLVII). 

If one desires to make the cast toward the right hand, 
the rod can be brought back to the left hand side of the body, 
the fisherman turning towards the right and making his 
downward switch to the right — clear of the line in the 
water — and towards the spot where he desires his fly to 
fall (see Plate XLVII.). 

If it be desired to make the fresh cast to the left, he will 
bring his rod back to the right as in the Loop cast, turning 
to the left and making his new cast also away from 
his line which lies on the water. In this method 
therefore no danger is encountered of fouling the line 
(See Plate XLVI.). 

The fisherman who stands on a bank cannot as a rule 
bring his line back on his down-stream side — or it would 
probably foul the bank — and consequently he frequently 
finds it difficult to make the loop across-stream. If he tries 
to make the loop across-stream by bringing his rod back on 
his up-stream side, he must bring his rod down directly 
across his line, with a greater danger of a foul, and hence the 
necessity for making the Spey throw. 

If the wind is blowing from behind and hindering the 
backward extension of the line, the Loop or the Switch cast 
can be used with excellent effect. 

Shooting the Line Force used in Casting 

The muscular effort required in lifting the line from the 
water and casting a trout or salmon fly depends on the length 
of the line which has to be extended, but the power used 
while learning is generally greatly in excess of that which 
is required. Beginners should remember that it is the 
method, or manner, of applying this force, more than its 
amount, which is important. It is vim, and not violence. 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 197 

which should be used. But as the exact force which is 
required in an absolutely perfect method of extending each 
cast is only attained after much experience, a slight excess 
of the actual force needed to extend the line is advisable. 
When making the forward cast this excess must be only 
sufficient to enable the line to extend itself horizontally, and 
to give it, in its forward progress, enough impetus to 
draw through the rings of the rod some, if not all, of the 
slack line which has been recovered prior to the back cast, 
and which is being held by the hand of the fisherman. The 
method of thus extending the length of each cast is called 
" shooting " the line. 

At the conclusion of the downward effort the rod has still 
to straighten itself, and until it has done so the forward pull 
on the line continues to be accelerated, and the line must 
not be liberated in " shooting " until the rod has imparted 
this latent energy to the line. Unless the line be allowed to 
shoot, at the conclusion of the downward effort, the limit of 
its extension will probably be reached before its forward 
impetus has been exhausted, and the accuracy of the cast 
will suffer because the fly — as the line straightens itself — 
will be jerked more or less backward towards the fisherman, 
and will fall either on the line, or in some manner calculated 
to frighten the fish. 

" Shooting the line " should be the method used when the 
line is being lengthened, prior to the final cast, the line being 
drawn off the reel by the left hand, and held until the con- 
clusion of each downward action of the forearm, when as the 
rod straightens, it is liberated and allowed to " shoot." 

The Drag, also the Sag 

To avoid these faults constitutes one of the greatest 
difficulties in fishing. The drag, though it may be some- 
times due to a fault on the part of the fisherman, is generally 



198 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

due to circumstances over which he appears to have little 
or no control. 

The drag is a bugbear to both the single-handed and the 
double-handed fisherman, whether he be casting a wet or a 
dry trout fly, a salmon fly, or spinning. The fault is always 
due to the fact that some part of the line between the rod-top 
and the lure travels faster than the lure itself, and conse- 
quently either drags the dry fly along the water, or produces 
a sag in the line, during the down-stream methods of casting, 
which very naturally prevents the realization of the fact 
that a fish is investigating the sunken lure. 

The first kind of drag, and one which is most common and 
the least recognized by the fisherman himself, is that which 
occurs immediately his dry fly falls on the water, and this 
particular fault is due to the fact that the line is not dead 
when it falls, but has a distinct motion of its own sometimes 
toward and sometimes away from the fisherman, which 
affects the fly after it has fallen, dragging it with an un- 
natural motion along the surface. The fault — save when 
a strong wind affects the line and gives it motion — is that 
if the cast has been correctly made, the shooting of the line 
has not been properly effected, and the line in such a cast 
has been allowed to extend itself with a jerk and recoil back 
towards the fisherman. A second kind of drag will occur even 
if the casting and the shooting have been properly carried 
out, if the rod be not lowered to the water in exact 
sympathy with the falling line. 

In this case if the fisherman is supposed to be casting 
from the bank some four feet above the water level, and if 
the rod has been checked in its downward course at the 
usual angle, the line, by the time it is extended, would be 
at a height of about six feet above the water. Owing to 
the fact that it has been correctly released, it has exhausted 
all its surplus energy in dragging out the spare line, has 



DIFFERENT METHODS OF CASTING 199 

become quite dead, and is falling to the water. If the rod 
is not lowered and extended a little forward, the rod point 
will become the centre of a circle of which the line is the 
radius, and the line at its heaviest end being held at this 
point, cannot fall vertically, but is drawn backward in a 
curve towards the fisherman, and by this backward curving 
action it draws the fly after it, and produces the drag. 

This error grows greater the higher the fisherman be 
situated above the water ; when casting from a high bridge, 
for instance, it is almost impossible to avoid this sort of drag. 

A common form of drag can also occur even when the 
line has correctly fallen on the water. 

If a fish be rising in an eddy on the far side of the stream, 
and the fly be thrown directly across the rapid water into 
the still water — the middle portion of the line will alight on 
the more rapid part of the current and will travel down 
stream faster than the cast and fly ; this will most certainly 
create the drag. 

Avoiding the Drag 

Under such circumstances, to place a dry fly which will 
remain on the water sufficiently long to give the fish an 
opportunity of rising, is, perhaps one of the most difficult 
casts which have to be made. 

If the following variation of the side cast be made up- 
stream, the immediate drag can be avoided. 

The reader may remember that in my instructions in the 
downward^action of the rod, I say that the rod should be 
brought forward with accelerating force ; starting the move- 
ment gently and without a jerk, etc. A jerky start may not 
only fail to extend the line, but will certainly bring the belly 
of the line downward towards or on the water before the 
line has extended itself. 

Starting either motion of the rod in casting with a sudden 



200 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

jerking impulse is a very common fault, and it was while 
studying this fault and its result in casting that I discovered 
the most certain method of throwing a fly so as to avoid the 
drag caused by a rapid stream running between the fisherman 
and the position of a rising trout. 

When a trout is seen rising in a position that must insure 
a drag if the overhead cast be adopted, a more or less side 
cast should be made up-stream (see Side cast). If the 
forward side cast be started gently and with an accelerating 
forward action, and a jerky forward impulse given to the 
rod after it starts, and the rest of the forward action be 
continued as before, this snatchy action will cause the line 
to belly up-stream, just as the same snatchy action will cause 
the line to belly down toward the water in the overhead cast. 

This up-stream curve in the line as it falls on the water 
should not affect the direction of the fly, but it will permit 
it to fall correctly and remain undisturbed on the water 
until the more rapid run of the stream has swept the curved 
portion of the line from its up-stream side to a similar curve 
down-stream — by which time, the trout should have risen, 
if it means to take the fly. 

This method of avoiding such a drag on the dry fly will 
also assist the fisherman when he has to encounter a similar 
evil when fishing down-stream, which occasions what is 
known as a sagging line, i.e., the belly of the line moving 
faster down-stream than the fly end of the line. 

It will be seen that by adopting this method of casting, the 
line can always be thrown in a curve on the water. This curva- 
ture of the line on the water is at times useful when the fisher- 
man is immediately below his fish, for a straight line which 
brings a dry fly immediately above a fish may disturb the 
water, whereas if the fly be thrown immediately above the fish, 
as it should be, with such a curving action of the line, there 
will be considerable less danger of the fish being scared. 



CHAPTER XI 

MENTAL CONTROL OF THE MUSCLES WHEN LEARNING 

TO CAST 

The Forefinger — The Influence of the thumb in the forward cast — 
Mental effort — Conscious effort — New muscular movement — 
Misplaced attention — The meaning of a stiff wrist — Misapplied 
energy — Attention — A quotation — Captain Marryat — The im- 
portance of the muscles of the forearm. 

The Forefinger 
The necessary muscular energy affecting the upward, 
backward and downward movement of the Trout Rod should 
be effected by the muscles of the arm, and communicated 
through a rigid wrist to the hand holding the rod, the 
influences of the hand being predominated by the " atten- 
tion " given to the grip of the rod by the forefinger and 
thumb. Just as in a musical chord one note should be 
dominant, so in the hand grasp on the rod the dominant 
influence should be that of the forefinger in the back cast 
and the thumb in the forward cast. 

When the backward cast has to be made, and when the 
line is extended in the act of fishing, the rod is first lowered 
towards the water, and the slack line gathered in by the 
left hand. The rod is then lifted by a steady and rapidly 
increasing upward effort of the forefinger. As this upward 
movement continues, the frictional resistance of the water 
on the line begins to diminish, and the lifting force of the 
forefinger gradually resolves itself into a backward action, 
increased to its conclusion by a quickening backward effort, 
the rod being abruptly checked, when it reaches an angle 

201 



202 . FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

of twenty-two degrees behind the vertical, by the thumb, 
which, with the forearm, is now pointing vertically upward. 

The Influence of the Thumb in the Forward Cast 

The rod should be dominated by the thumb from now to 
the conclusion of the forward cast (see Plate XVII). After 
a pause to allow the line to extend itself backward, the forward 
and downward action of the rod should be commenced by 
a steadily increasing forward and downward curving pressure 
of the point of the thumb. 

The pressure or push forward of the thumb produces a 
forward bend in the rod, which acquires an answering 
forward and downward velocity, until it is stopped dead at an 
angle of twenty-two degrees above the horizon ; the action 
of the hand in checking it here should be again dominated 
by the forefinger. 

Now, however light may be the pressure on the rod of 
either the finger or the thumb in these duties, yet an 
absolutely controlled rigidity of the wrist will foUow, and it 
cannot displace the elbow as a pivotal hinge. 

Mental Effort 

If " attention "* be given to the respective pressures of 
the rod by the forefinger and the thumb, the elastic con- 
tinuity of the rod and forearm is maintained and the pivotal 
action of the elbow is enforced. 

Fortunately the mental effort of using the forefinger and 
thumb, which is necessary to effect the correct hold of the 
rod, has, in other actions, become such an habitual process 
in our daily life that we can apply it when casting a fly. 

We have only to think of one of the many thumb or 

* By " attention," as I have explained elsewhere, I do not mean attention 
to a thought or action which is habitual, but attention to mental effort 
which is original, such as that which is required to keep the thumb at a 
constant angle to the forearm during the effort of casting. 



MENTAL CONTROL OF THE MUSCLES 203 

forefinger actions we make, in order to find that the turning 
of the hand, the wrist and the forearm into one controlled 
lever is at once subconsciously effected. The conscious 
holding of the pencil between the forefinger and thumb — 
nay, the conscious holding of a blade of grass by them — 
will keep the wrist under rigid control so long as attention to 
this action is maintained. 

Conscious Effort 

I use the word " consciously " with a definite and precise 
meaning, and I do not mean " consciously " thinking of 
writing, but " consciously" thinking of how to do it while 
doing it — the writing. We have made the muscular control 
of the pencil into a habit, and we can now, therefore, make 
other muscular movements at the same time, but no two 
original muscular movements can each be successfully 
thought out and successfully carried into effect at the same 
moment of time. When writing, etc., as when using the 
rod, a secondary and considered action of the wrist is not 
required* — attention must not be devoted to the wrist, 
but to the thumb and forefinger. 

The habit of writing has been acquired during the long 
forgotten, but nevertheless wearying hours of attention 
during our youth. The mental habit of thinking in the finger 
and the thumb alternately is not taught to children ; they 
have to acquire it, and the complicated muscular movements 
which have grown into the harmoniously continued action 
called writing, are, as a rule, the result of an acquired knack. 
Try to write with the left hand for the first time, and you will 
begin to appreciate the mental processes which are involved 
in that which has become one of the most common of our 
habitual activities of the right hand. 

* Although such a wrist action can be easily made, when writing or casting 
has become a habit, by a secondary mentally controlled effort. 



204 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

New Muscular Movement 

In order quickly and correctly to perform any new 
muscular movement, the effort should be controlled by 
a carefully directed mental effort, and it will be found 
as the muscles continue to answer to a repetition of the 
mental effort, that gradually a correct habit is formed, and 
the student, however right or left handed he may be, by 
thus making such a habit with one hand, has acquired the 
ability to use his other hand with equal success in the 
accomplishment of this action. 

It is thus that having taught my clients how to cast the 
fly successfully with one hand, they find to their intense 
surprise that they have also acquired the ability to use the 
other hand in a similar cast and with a success equal in a 
relative degree of course to the muscular development of 
each set of muscles of the forearm. 

It is the want of analytical thought on the part of the 
instructor which prevents his readily imparting the mental 
methods by which he sub-consciously, or through habit 
alone, accomplishes his master actions. He may have a 
set of rules by which he instructs, but he rarely enforces on 
his pupils the necessity of making those mental efforts and 
thought processes by which alone each new muscular move- 
ment should be controlled. Such an one may say — " You 
should do this," or that — in this way, or that way, etc., but 
he rarely tells his pupil to think out one by one each of the 
muscular movements before making them, and then to do 
each one correctly and with forethought, before trying to 
combine them into one effort. 

The Grasp on the Rod 
The hand holding the single-handed rod should be 
actuated by the principal muscles of the forearm, but 
without a rigidly controlled wrist these muscles cannot 



MENTAL CONTROL OF THE MUSCLES 205 

communicate the full amount of their energy to the 
hand. 

In everything we do, with the thumb or forefinger or 
with both, at the moment of doing it we subconsciously 
also control the wrist. But writers on the subject of fly- 
casting have insisted on wrist action — a " delicate wrist 
action" being, according to them, the necessary adjunct to 
casting with a single-handed rod. By thus directing the 
attention of the learner to the wrist, and not to the forearm 
and thumb, they have not assisted those who have depended 
on their advice, and have actually sinned against the methods 
they themselves employ in nine cases out of ten when they 
are successfully casting a fly. So far as this advice is 
concerned, the mistake is generally due to a faulty analysis 
of the habits on which they depend. The movement of the 
wrist, if made at all, is purely a secondary and unnecessary 
action depending on a separate and mentally controlled 
muscular activity, and if the wrist is used as a hinge, it is 
moved as the result of thought applied with this definite 
object in view. 

Misplaced Attention 

The author, when teaching a lady to cast a trout fly, 
endeavoured to get her to raise her hand upward and 
toward her face without bending her wrist (a stiff wrist 
being necessary for the successful accomplishment of the 
cast). When casting she had been always accustomed to 
bend her wrist, and when endeavouring to follow the author's 
instructions, she was absolutely unable to raise her hand 
from the horizontal position to her face. The action should 
have been performed from the elbow, but, taking her mind 
from her wrist, she concentrated it on her shoulder, and thus 
failed. The author then said : " Oh, never mind — if you 
cannot do it, we will find some other way to make you do 



206 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

so ; but, before proceeding, may I draw your attention to 
the fact that you have a smut on your nose ? " Whereupon 
the lady's hand immediately went up to her nose, much to 
her astonishment. She made this quite natural action 
subconsciously ; her thoughts being taken off her shoulder^ 
subconscious activity instantly lifted the arm from the 
elbow in its usual way. In endeavouring to keep her wrist 
stiff, she had unconsciously included the muscles of the arm 
as being inhibited, and endeavoured to raise her hand with 
the wrong muscles — the muscles of the shoulder. 

The Meaning of a Stiff Wrist 

To tell the student therefore that a cast depends on a 
" delicate wrist action " is to focus his attention on his wrist 
and land him in a mental muddle. The thought should for 
choice be focussed in the ball of the thumb or forefinger. 

If we hit at, or even reach out andfirmly touch, a definite 
object in front of the body, the hand has become an inflexible 
socket, stiffening the wrist in every direction, and permitting 
the muscles of the forearm to supply the force necessary to, 
and controlling the blow, or the action of touching. 

I hope my reader will not confuse my meaning. The 
wrist, before and leading up to the hit by the stick, the 
racket, the golf club, the cricket bat, the touch by the bow 
of the violin, etc., may, if so desired, be bent at will, yet at 
the moment the attention is consciously applied to striking 
the object, playing the chord, etc., the wrist will be so 
controlled that unless it be desired, it will not be bent. 
Now in the case of the fishing rod, this control is absolutely 
necessary all the time the rod is being used for the purpose 
of casting, if it be desired to project the fly most accurately 
and effectively, because, there is a wide difference between 
the action of striking an object with a stick, hitting a tennis 
ball, etc., and casting a trout fly. 



MENTAL CONTROL OF THE MUSCLES 207 

In the one the object — the Mow — is achieved at a special 
fraction of time, and the velocity of the weapon increases 
to this climax in order to effectually impart its force to the 
object struck, and so long as this force is correctly imparted 
it matters not what individual flourishes or evolutions have 
preceded the impact ; but the reverse is the case with a rod 
and line — the line is always attached to the rod and for so 
long as this is so all movements of the rod must affect it. 

This fact may be illustrated, for instance, by the difference 
in the action between a fishing rod and a woomera, or throwing 
stick of the aboriginals of North Queensland ; for while the 
spear, so long as it rests in the woomera, requires a definite 
and continued impulse until it is discharged, yet the spear's 
onward course is thereafter disassociated with the woomera, 
which can be dropped to the earth without affecting the 
flight of the spear. Not so the line, which is not disassociated 
with the fishing rod after the casting effort is made — its 
forward course being very seriously affected by every after 
movement of the rod, i.e., until the fly reaches the water and 
the line comes to rest, until which time a rigid control of 
the rod has to be maintained. 

The line to which the fly is attached cannot be thrown, 
and it has been the mistake of the past to try and throw it. 
It is, or should be, by a continuous motion of the rod, 
unrolled. 

Misapplied Energy 

I notice that in a recent book on the art of fly-fishing, 
the author emphasizes the necessity of " keeping the hand 
tightly grasping the rod," but at the same time condemns 
the use of what he terms a "stiff wrist." This serves to show 
the extreme confusion of thought which characterizes those 
who, though they may be able to extend a fly to their own 
satisfaction, are yet unable to appreciate the muscular control 



208 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

of the wrist which must follow if they consciously apply 
themselves to this advice. 

It is, besides this point, quite unnecessary to advise the 
beginner to grasp the handle of his rod as tightly as -possible, 
if he wishes to cast a fly with accuracy and delicacy. The 
rod should be no more tightly grasped than is the pen with 
which a person writes. The hand should act as the socket 
joints, which make one vibrant whole of a two or three 
piece rod, and a moment's reflection will prove that beyond 
these sockets forming a close fitting union between the 
different parts of a rod, the female portion of the sockets 
do not exercise the slightest grasping pressure on the joint 
they enclose. 

The reason that people offer this advice is because they 
confuse the principles governing the control of the rod, and 
possibly because they have been, or are, learning to alter the 
faulty dependence on a separate wrist control of the rod into 
a forearm and hand control, and think that it is only by 
an excess of mental concentration on the grasp of the 
rod that they can conquer the older and faulty habit of 
bending the wrist. But none the less, the beginner 
should have no misconceptions on this important subject. 

In the second edition of a former work (1907), page 8, I 
say : " If the thumb be pressed firmly against the rod, the 
wrist cannot be bent, and the rod cannot go back beyond this 
angle," again I say, on page 219, " this grasp will of necessity 
produce a rigid wrist, and should therefore assist the sudden 
check which is so important," but it will be seen that this 
advice was given to my readers with the object of making 
them keep the wrist rigid. 

Attention 

Prior to 1907 I had not discovered that all that it was 
necessary to do in order to keep the wrist under control was 



MENTAL CONTROL OF THE MUSCLES 209 

to confine the attention to the definite object of doing some- 
thing with the forefinger or thumb, and that therefore if 
attention were concentrated on the pressure by the ball of 
the thumb, wrist action would be avoided. I knew then, 
however, that the mental activity — which a consciously 
enforced grasp of the rod entails — would prevent the wrist 
action from occurring, and hence my advice, the value of 
which — ^but not the actual result which attends it — is 
recognised by the author of the book previously mentioned. 

It is not, however, necessary to force the mind to make 
any increase in effort, in order to attain that controlled 
rigidity of the wrist, which is necessary when effecting 
ninety-nine out of every hundred of the daily actions made 
by the hand. This author is, however, by this advice, 
unwittingly helping his readers, for he is preventing or 
neutralizing the faulty consequences of the other advice he 
offers, the necessity of a pivotal wrist action ; for if 
" attention " be maintained in order to grasp the rod by the 
finger and thumb, however light may be the grasp, this 
enforces a constant angle between the forearm and the rod, 
and prevents a wrist action, and by so doing allows the most 
important muscles of the forearm to control the movement 
of the rod, a consummation devoutly to be desired, but which 
is defeated if a pivotal action of the wrist be effected. 

The beginner should remember that the muscles he should 
employ in the different movements required in casting are 
those which he has through habit been using from his infancy 
in a variety of other and distinct actions, and although the 
object he has in view when using them may be a new one, 
yet concentration of thought will soon link them into a 
well-ordered sequence. 

The movements made by the hand in casting are three — 
the raise, the back action and the forward action — but each 
of these movements has in other of our every-day actions 

16 



210 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

already become a separate habit ; the difficulty then is 
having to make a sequence of these three into the one 
habit of casting. 

Should any cramped or stiff feeling be experienced in the 
fingers or muscles of the arm, etc., when practising, it will, 
if the mental process be a correct one, be due to an over- 
application of force by those muscles in grasping the rod. 
A child will over-exert the muscles of his thumb and fingers 
by grasping too tightly the pen or pencil when learning to 
write, and thus experience the same sort of cramp in his 
forefingers or thumb. 

It is because of that most erroneous of all instructions, 
viz., that which draws the attention of the beginner to the 
wrist, when he is told to " carry out a delicate wrist action " 
— that work is required from a system of muscles intended, 
developed and trained for the one purpose of preventing the 
wrist being thus turned into a pivot, and consequently the 
fatigue and stiffness of the muscles so frequently mentioned 
are experienced. 

Attention should be concentrated on keeping the fore- 
finger and the thumb to their respective work on the handle 
of the rod, until such concentration becomes unnecessary 
owing to the fact that " attention " has been replaced by a 
subconscious habitual action. 

A Quotation 

Mr. Halford, in his latest book, continues to advocate a 
pivotal wrist action in the backward and forward cast, and 
he says : " I venture to suggest the best of performers do 
practically all the work with the wrist," and later on he 
says : " Some few fishermen cast with an almost stiff wrist, 
and use the forearm as the motive power. It is not a pretty 
style, but there are undoubtedly many first-rate fishermen 
who invariably adopt this method." 



MENTAL CONTROL OF THE MUSCLES 211 

I trust that I am not unduly optimistic in believing that 
I am generally considered as being the pioneer of the stiff 
wrist theory ; certainly I have always recommended the 
forearm muscles as the power to be employed in all and 
every sort of single-handed casting with a fly rod. 

Captain Marryat 

Captain Marryat — than whom no better fisherman ever 
lived — not only used the thumb as the agent for controlling 
the inflexibility of the wrist and permitting the muscles of 
the forearm to do the work, but used his forefinger to assist 
the thumb in doing so. I believe this was due to the fact 
that the rods used in those days were not so light or so well 
actioned as those of the present day, and I have heard that 
those used by Captain Marryat were by no means the 
lightest even of those then built. Consequently the aid 
of the forefinger to assist the thumb in its duty of controlling 
the inflexibility of the wrist, is understandable, and was 
apparently used by Captain Marryat in order that the 
muscles of the forearm should effectively convey the force 
necessary in delivering his fly. 

Many men are strong enough to get out a fairly lengthy 
line, and very often an accurate one, when obviously 
bringing into play a good deal of pivotal wrist action, but a 
closer analysis of their casting will show that even this is 
only a limited wrist action which occurs at a portion of the 
cast least vital to its ultimate success ; this pivotal action, 
however is more or less corrected by its being converted into 
a forearm action at the most critical and important portion 
of the cast, i.e., as the downward action of the rod is checked 
— and this by the rigidity of the wrist at that moment. 

At the conclusion of the backward and forward effort it 
may be found by those who make the wrist one of the pivots 
of the rod action, that their casting is improved by what they 



212 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

term a wrist action, and by which wrist action many of my 
clients have told me that they think they give a final flick 
to the rod. If, however, they very closely consider this 
action, they will find out that this flick is in reality produced 
by a deliberately executed thumb and finger action which 
stiffens the wrist and permits the muscles of the forearm to 
communicate in the final effort this impulse to the fishing rod. 
In other words they permit the muscles of the forearm to do 
the work for which they were intended, and, late as this 
control is on the rod, it yet materially improves their 
casting. 

The Importance of the Muscles of the Forearm 

It is on the muscles of the forearm and the use of the 
elbow as pivot that the fisherman must rely, and if anyone 
doubt this, let his forearm be held rigidly by a friend in any 
position, and let him see of how little use his hand and wrist 
action are when making his backward and forward cast, 
when deprived of the use of the forearm muscles. If, on the 
other hand, he will fasten the butt end of his rod to his 
forearm above the wrist, by a handkerchief, and then use the 
forearm and its muscles to cast with, the elbow being the 
pivot on which the movement is made, he will appreciate 
the fact that this produces a controlled wrist action and 
enables him to cast with the greatest ease and accuracy. 

When a habit is acquired of thus using the forearm in the 
manner I advise, this independent pivotal wrist action — 
— which has been so persistently recommended, and which 
has proved a bugbear to so many learners — will be found 
to be absolutely unnecessary and prejudicial to the best 
method of casting a fly, and he will then, as an after 
result, find that any secondary wrist action cannot without 
definite " attention," and without definite determination, 
be made. If, however, such a wrist action be definitely 



MENTAL CONTROL OF THE MUSCLES 213 

enforced by the brain, it will be found that the splendid 
energy of the muscles of the forearm are replaced by the 
energy of the less effective ones which control the action 
of the wrist, and both the accuracy and limit of the cast 
will be affected. 

All the clients I have coached in Trout Fly Casting have 
been taught to use the single-handed rod with the muscles 
of the forearm as the power, the wrist being the inflexible 
connection between the hand and the forearm, and with the 
elbow as a pivot ; and if the delight expressed in hundreds 
of unsolicited testimonials can be accepted as evidence, or 
success in tournament casting can be regarded as an index 
of the correct method of using the muscles in the act of 
casting, then I think it must be evident that my method of 
casting is the correct one. 

With regard to the attention which is so necessary in 
order to acquire perfection, it is well to remember the words 
of Shakespeare : 

" There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes 
it so." — Hamlet, Act IL, Scene 2. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE ACTION AND QUALITIES OF A PERFECT 
TROUT ROD 

Baden-Powell and testing rods — A mechanical test — ^The hand test — 
A correct method of testing — ^The action — ^The consideration of 
a stiff and of a whippy action in a fly rod — ^The perfect rod — ^The 
treatment of a fly rod — ^Tournament rods — Points to remember 
when selecting a rod — ^The virtues or otherwise of a dry fly rod. 

It will be generally admitted that as regards the construction 
of the weapons and appliances used in the various fields of 
sport, none can excel, and very few equal, in science and 
delicacy of their make, the modern split cane fly rod, the 
tapered line and casts, the reels, artificial flies, etc., etc., 
which are now used in fly fishing. 

It is necessary, however, to consider most carefully, not 
only the qualities which constitute a perfect fly rod, but the 
difficulties which beset the judicious selection of one. 

Baden Powell and Testing Rods 

A method of testing some of the qualities of a fly rod 
was introduced and advocated some years ago by, I think, 
Mr. W. Baden-Powell, K.C. These theories were exhaus- 
tively examined and discussed in the sporting press, etc. 
The originator of this method of testing a rod suggested 
that the butt end of the rod should be securely fixed in some 
mechanical holder, the rod being inclined to the horizontal 
at various angles, and that a definitely considered weight 
should be suspended from its top ring, the idea being that 
the curvature of the rod, the exact distance extended 
horizontally by this plummet on a base line, and its rate of 

214 



ACTION OF A PERFECT TROUT ROD 215 

vibrations should be compared with the curvature, vibra- 
tions, etc., of some rod, whose length, weight, curvature 
and vibratory action was standardized, this test affording 
some indication of the relative qualities of the rod tested. 

I think that the strength and the vibration of the finished 
rod can be thus standardized, and that the method of a 
base line as suggested by Mr. Baden-Powell, in conjunction 
with a consideration of the curves made by the rod when 
subjected to pressure, is effective, simple, and ingenious. 

It will be recognized, however, that such a test could afford 
no indication of that most important quality, the " action " 
of the rod on the holder in which it was fixed, and therefore 
the information derived from such a method would be of 
little use to a fisherman when selecting a rod, for his hand 
would have to take the place of a holder used in such 
a test. 

By the action of a rod is hardly meant its amount of 
whippiness, its balance, its rate of vibrations, its power, etc., 
but rather a something which affects the hand, wrist, and 
forearm of the holder, and which is the direct result of these 
combined qualities. 

A Mechanical Test 

When handling a rod we speak of its having a delightful, 
or the reverse, action, and we judge of this by its influence 
on the hand which holds it. The term "action" therefore 
is, or at least should be, used as a separate teim to be applied 
to the feel of the rod, which is a result of the combined 
influences of its other qualities. 

Now the mechanical test introduced by Mr. W. Baden- 
Powell, gives no clue to this influence, i.e., the action of the 
rod on the vice or holder in which it is fixed. The rod then 
which produces the least hit or jar on whatever may be the 
holder in which it is placed, is that rod which will be the 



216 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

most pleasant to use, and, provided its other qualities be 
equally good, will permit of the greatest accuracy and 
delicacy in casting. 

A test made in any such mechanical manner, cannot be 
of any service in answering the question as to what effect 
the action of a rod has on the wrist and arm of the fisherman. 
It is the senses of the fisherman alone which must be his 
guide as to this action, and if he be inexperienced, and the 
particular sense required to test the action of the rod on his 
wrist has not been educated, he will, if he makes his selection 
in a shop, most likely err in the choice of a rod. 

The Hand Test 

If we take the top end of a three piece rod, and, holding 
it inflexibly in one hand, we try its action by striking or 
switching it backward and forward, we shall most likely 
say what a beautiful, quick action, etc., it has. If we then 
take the middle joint of the same rod, and do likewise, we 
shall say that its action is awkward and stiff, and if we take 
the butt end we shall still more emphatically condemn its 
action, etc. Now, fixing the two upper joints together 
we shall find that the stiff action of the middle joint has to 
some extent been modified, and when we fix the three joints 
together we may perchance say — What a perfect action ! 
But it must be at once evident that as the forearm con- 
stitutes another joint, the rod is, when thus tested, a 
four-joint rod, and its perfection really depends upon the 
relationship of the upper three pieces to the fourth piece — 
the forearm. 

A rod, when tested in a mechanical holder, may have a 
rate and degree of vibrations approaching that of the most 
perfect rod, and yet when tested by those members which 
have to control and actuate it, vi^., the hand, the wrist, and 
the forearm, may be intolerably severe on the wrist. 



ACTION OF A PERFECT TROUT ROD 217 

A Correct Method of Testing 
It is evident then that a test should be made by the hand, 
but equally also that it must be made in some well-considered 
and definite manner. Obviously a very varied effect will 
be produced on the senses by the same rod if the wrist be 
used, in one case, as a well controlled extension of the 
forearm, and in the other simply as a more or less controlled 
hinge between the forearm and the hand. If a more or less 
rigid and weighty stick be used as in the backward or for- 
ward motion of the fishing rod, its backward action being 
checked — as that of the rod should be— by the thumb, at a 
point about twenty-two degrees behind the vertical, and 
again checked as it should be at the end of its downward 
stroke, a certain hit or strain will be felt on the wrist as the 
momentum of the rod is stopped. The amount of the hit 
or strain will be an index as to how much the elasticity of 
the stick, or butt end of the rod fails to blend its vibrating 
elasticity with that of the arm, wrist and hand. If the 
same stick or bar be brought backward and forward, and 
the wrist be permitted to yield to the momentum of the 
stick, this hit or strain will not be so immediately 
appreciated, but nevertheless the strain of this hit, though 
it does not at once become apparent — as it does when it is 
checked with a stiff wrist under the control of the thumb — 
will yet affect the muscles which control the wrist and 
which will be called into play, and the greater the hit 
or jar, the greater will be the strain and also the fatigue as 
the day lengthens. 

The Action 

By far the most important factor which contributes to the 

perfection or the non-perfection of a trout rod is that which 

centres round this word — Action. Provided it is made of 

the best cane, and that its centre of balance is only a few 



218 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

inches beyond the end of the thumb, when the rod is being 
held horizontally with the reel on, and the line in position, 
and that the rod is properly tapered, the " action " of the 
rod is the principal factor which determines its perfection. 

The weight of a good split cane trout rod may vary from 
three-eighths to seven-eighths of an ounce per foot, up to a 
length of 9| feet, without affecting its usefulness or the 
comfort of the angler. A dry fly rod should be about 
9 feet 6 inches in length, and, always provided that the 
action of the rod when ready for fishing is centred so that 
no appreciable hit is noticeable in the wrist when the rod is 
checked in its backward or downward action, the less whippy 
the rod is the better will be its casting power and its excellence 
as a dry fly rod. 

The Consideration of a Stiff and of a Whippy Action 
IN A Fly Rod 

If we can imagine a rod which could be built absolutely 
rigid from butt to top ring, it would — during the back cast 
— when the hand controlling it had reached its back limit, 
have done all it could do as regards transmitting the force 
of the arm, and would be powerless to affect any farther the 
backward movement of the line ; therefore, unless the 
necessary lifting and backward impetus to the line had 
by then been imparted, the back cast would be a failure. 

It follows that with an absolutely stiff rod the upward 
and backward action necessary to effect the backward 
extension of the line must take place while the hand is 
moving, and however much force may have thus been 
applied by the hand, no after assistance will be obtained 
from the rod, as its backward action will cease with the 
stopping of the hand action ; it has acquired no bend and 
has therefore no further pull on the line. 

Under these conditions the energy employed to make a 



ACTION OF A PERFECT TROUT ROD 219 

successful back cast with such a rod would necessarily be of 
a more rapid and violent nature, and, even if effective, would 
result in a most prejudicial disturbance of the water as the 
line was jerked backward ; the longer the line the more 
would this fault develop. This of course refers to a 
perfectly stiff rod. 

If absolute rigidity of the rod disappeared, and whippiness 
began to appear, a less violent jerk would be required to 
effect the backward cast, and as whippiness increased, the 
jerking action would become unnecessary and would 
disappear and devolve into the upward and backward 
switching movement. 

In the other extreme, an excessively whippy rod, on the 
backward effort being applied, would rapidly acquire such 
a bend, that the hand would have reached the end of any 
possible backward extension long before enough energy to 
conquer the frictional resistance of the water and project 
the line backward had been imparted, and whatever latent 
energy had been retained by the rod, it would not be 
sufficient to extend the line and fly backward to its right 
elevation with anything like the vim required. 

The Perfect Rod 

The perfect rod for each fisherman should enable him by 
a movement of the forearm from its horizontal to the 
vertical position to pick up of^ the water, easily and quickly, 
and to extend correctly backward, such a length of line as he 
may require to use. The relative stiffness of a rod affects 
its casting powers, and its whippiness affects its delicate 
adaptation of the force applied in casting, striking, or playing 
the fish. 

The more perfect the rod, the less is the danger of dis- 
turbing the surface of the water when making the back cast, 
or of breaking the fine point of the gut cast when striking. 



220 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The pliability of the rod counteracts to a very great 
extent the fault of snatching the line off the water in the 
back cast, or of a too forceful strike at a rising fish. But 
here the advantage of the whippiness of a fly rod ends, and 
the advantages of a stiff rod have to be considered. Always 
assuming that in other respects the rod is perfect, its 
stiffness will permit a quicker and more direct impulse to 
be communicated to the line both in casting and in striking, 
a longer line to be picked off the water, a greater length of 
line projected in casting, and greater mastery over the fish 
when hooked, abetter result when casting against the wind, 
and greater accuracy. Hence it is that, when the vibrant 
qualities of a rod are sufficiently brilliant to secure an all 
round excellence in these latter qualities, and when its 
balance and action blend themselves into the muscular and 
sensitive qualities of the forearm of the user — that the 
perfect rod is recognized. 

The Treatment of a Fly Rod 

The rod which, in the hands of a skilful and reasonable 
man, will last for a lifetime, will in the hands of another soon 
become strained and warped either by playing a fish heavily, 
striking abruptly when using a long line, or by trying to 
jerk the line off the water instead of picking it off gradually 
when making the back cast. 

A fly rod should be used only as a fly casting rod, and 
never as a trolling or spinning one. The stiffer the rod — 
all its other qualities being perfect — the greater the distance 
which can be covered and the greater the command when 
striking and playing a fish. 

The casting power of the rod depends on the amount of 
line which the rod can raise from the surface of the water. 
The relation of the line to the rod must, therefore, be very 
carefully considered, and a line whose taper and weight 



ACTION OF A PERFECT TROUT ROD 221 

suits the strength of each rod used by the fisherman should 
alone be used. The influence of an over heavy line on a 
delicately actioned rod is just as bad for the rod as is that 
of a too light line on the pleasure of casting the fly. 

It must be remembered when choosing a line that the 
lighter the tapered line the less strain on the rod, the less 
disturbance to the water as the line falls and the greater 
the ease of lifting the line lightly from the water. The 
usefulness of a line has as a rule gone when the tapered 
portion is worn out, and as it is the tapered portion which 
invariably goes first, the belly, or thicker portion of the 
line, which in other respects will be quite sound, may, if 
too heavy, be useless for the delicate work on most of our 
dry fly streams. 

Tournament Rods 

However interesting Fly and Bait Casting Tournaments 
may be, it is very questionable whether they have really 
tended to improve either the methods of fishing or the 
construction of the fly rod. Only a few competitors enter 
for these contests, and but little advance in the art of fly 
casting has, so far as I know, been evolved as a result of these 
tournaments. For a maker to claim that his fly rods must 
be the best weapons to fish with, because one carefully 
selected rod, out of several thousands which he builds, has 
in the hands of the most experienced fly thrower he can get 
to use it, projected a fly, or thrown a bait, etc., a few inches 
or a few feet further than another of his own rods, or the 
rods of other makers, is as absurd as it would be for the 
man who makes the longest cast of a fly, etc., to claim on 
this account any superiority in his methods of fishing over 
other men. 

While tournaments may be used as a convenient means 
of advertising rods and rod sellers, such distinction ha& 



222 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

led many inexperienced buyers to invest in rods which are 
neither suitable nor pleasant for fishing purposes. 

Points to Remember when Selecting a Rod 

The greatest care, nay — caution — should be adopted 
when purchasing a rod. 

It is better in every case for even the most experienced 
fisherman to take home for approval the rod he may fancy 
in a shop, and to try it with a line for some ten minutes 
over water, or on his lawn, and also compare its casting 
properties with some well-tried rod, before deciding on its 
purchase. If the novice cannot by such means select one, 
he should obtain the advice of some experienced friend 
before he finally decides on his rod. 

The action of a rod cannot easily be judged in a shop. 
The muscles which are used in such a trial are unfatigued, 
and the space and time for the trial are both too limited 
to permit of the ill effects of the faulty action of an ill-made 
rod to be realized, or those of a good rod thoroughly 
appreciated. 

If it were possible by machinery to convert a bamboo 
from its virgin state into a split cane rod in its finished 
condition as seen in the shop, a standard rod might, under 
certain circumstances, be obtainable. But bamboos differ, 
and are not always of an exactly equal degree of excellency, 
and however even or similar in appearance a shipment of 
bamboos may be, each bamboo will have its own individual 
quality, strength and elasticity, and therefore, for this 
reason alone, if a machine-made rod were possible, a 
considerable difference would exist in each rod. When it 
is remembered that not only do bamboos differ — that more 
than one man is employed in making each rod — that each 
of these differ not only in their sense of touch, experience, 
and judgment, but in their moods and capabilities, and also 



ACTION OF A PERFECT TROUT ROD 223 

that the meteorological conditions vary, and consequently 
influence so differently the building of rods, it will be 
recognized that no two rods can- — except by an accident — 
be made with an exactly similar degree of action, balance 
weight, elasticity, stiffness and vibration. It is by the 
educated senses of the experienced fly fisherman alone that 
an accurate judgment — as to the various factors which go 
to make a good rod — can be formed and such a rod selected 
that at the close of a day's fishing it will be found as effective 
and pleasant to use as during the first few moments in which 
it is handled. Excellent as are my rod builders, and 
thoroughly as they devote themselves to the work of building 
my rods, carefully as I test, approve and pass all those rods 
on which I allow my name to appear, still each rod — although 
all come into one delightful class — has its individual balance 
and action, which makes it heavier and stronger, and which 
inclines it towards perfection or the reverse. 

To claim, therefore, than any fishing tackle firm has some 
secret knowledge or method as to rod building, which — 
without that personal testing which I consider necessary — 
will ensure that every rod they may label with some 
particular name must possess a similarity in its good — or 
bad^ — qualities, is merely bluff, but it is bluff which has 
deceived, and may still continue to deceive, the novice. 
Further, it has often this bad effect — that a beginner, 
purchasing a rod, the name of which is supposed to be a 
guarantee of its excellence, may probably find his casting 
spoilt and his pleasure marred by a smart looking rod which, 
after an hour's fishing, will become, from its action on the 
wrist and forearm, both difficult and painful to use. 

While we owe to the Americans the introduction of split 
cane — that is split bamboo — as a material used in the 
construction of our fishing rods, several of our rod builders 
may now claim to produce rods equal to, if not better than, 



224 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

the best American ones. Hardy Bros, may be regarded as 
one of the leading pioneers in the building of split cane 
rods in England, but during the last six or seven years 
several other firms have gained public favour in this 
particular industry, and no one firm can with justice claim 
any pre-eminence in the production of either good salmon 
or trout split cane rods. It is to some of our smaller 
manufacturers that we now owe some of the best and 
choicest of our rods. Redditch has maintained its old-time 
superiority in the manufacture and construction of fishing 
rods, its split cane rod industry being the largest in the 
world, and it is well for the public to remember that the 
majority of fishing rod and tackle businesses in London are 
selling Redditch made rods, and that some of those who 
profess to build their own rods are, and have been relying 
for many years, on the excellent cane rods built there. 

The Virtues or Otherwise of a Dry Fly Rod 

The excellence of a trout rod lies in this — that not only 
should it be capable of conquering the fish you hook, but 
it should possess such a well-balanced, tempered action 
and weight that it will, when in use, so blend its action into 
that of the forearm as to appear, so far as the sense of 
feeling and touch are concerned, to be but a continuance 
of the forearm itself. 

There is nothing more certain than that tournament 
casting must be regarded in the light of a new sport, which 
while interesting, and maybe useful, so far as records are 
concerned, tends but little to improve the practice of fishing. 
The records now made by the best long distance casters 
have long since passed the limit of usefulness, and especially 
is this so as regards fly casting. The rods used in casting 
tournaments, not only in this country but elsewhere, 
for distance casting, are not rods with which one would 



ACTION OF A PERFECT TROUT ROD 225 

choose to fish. A heavy rod may be useful — to a man who 
is strong enough to cast with it — when it is only required to 
make a very long cast, or when either from weeds, heavy 
fish, or owing to the vicinity of dangers, drastic measures 
have to be adopted after a fish has been hooked, but in 
my opinion a nine foot six inch single-handed rod is about 
the average length of a really useful wet or dry fly 
weapon, and for comfort as well as delicacy the action of 
such a rod should blend its virtues into those of the 
forearm. 

It was with these ideas in my mind, and because it 
appeared to me that a perfect Dry Fly Rod was wanted, 
that in 1908 I designed the first " Fred G. Shaw " rod, 
which Messrs. Hardy Bros, eventually succeeded in 
manufacturing to my satisfaction, and which they continued 
to make and sell until I reserved to myself alone the privilege 
of using my name on my own patents and designs. 



16 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 

The instinct of the salmon — ^The hfe of the salmon — ^The Alevin— The 
salmon fly — ^The appearance of the Parr — ^The Smolt — ^The aim of 
Nature — The smolt in salt water — ^The Grilse or salmon — ^The 
return when injured — Spawning — Rejection of food when captured 
— ^Aggressiveness of salmon — ^The sustenance of salmon — ^The 
author's theory — Other theories — ^The gastric glands of salmon — A 
general view. 

The Instinct of the Salmon 

From the moment it leaves the friendly shelter of the 
redd, amid the pebbles of which it has hatched, has absorbed 
the yolk-sac attached to its body, and passed from the 
alevin to the parr stage, the life of the salmon is full of 
interest to the naturalist, peril to itself, and danger to the 
water insect and smaller life with which its parental stream 
abounds. 

No watchful care guards its early days or assists its 
first attempts to obtain food or the shelter so necessary 
to its tender and defenceless condition. As it emerges 
into the rush of the stream from the comparative safety 
of the redd, a tiny inch of delicate but perfect fish, it is 
swept into a world teeming with watchful and ever- 
voracious enemies. It is by no means helpless, and instinct 
teaches it to dart at once for the protecting shelter of the 
nearest root or pebble. In every after moment of its 
eventful life, in every fresh danger, until it attains to its 
full growth, it is to the natural wisdom of its own instinct 
that it owes its safety. This instinct is the guiding influence 

226 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 227 

of its whole life, and is as vivid and compelling in its alevin 
state as when, a full-grown salmon, it rubs your Jock Scott 
from its jaws against some pebbly bottom, or saws through 
your cast against the rugged rock at the foot of which you 
have perchance permitted it to sulk, and plunges down- 
stream with your broken trace trailing from its jaws 
(see Frontispiece). Strengthened though this instinct may 
be by after-experience, it represents to the salmon an 
equivalent for the parental education so wonderfully and 
carefully imparted to most animal and bird life, and to 
all humans prior to the age of maturity. 

No education, indeed, no matter how complete, could 
compensate the salmon for the absence of those mysterious 
impulses which influence its life, which cause the smolt's 
migration from, and return as a grilse or salmon to, its native 
waters, or for the wisdom which directs it as it leaps for 
the first time up and amid the dangers of the towering 
fall, which sends it, when wounded, away from the deadly 
contact of the fresh-water micro-organisms to the healing 
power of the salt water, or guides it back to the mouth of 
its own particular river after wandering over the trackless 
bottom of the ocean. 

The following remarks anent the habits and life of the 
salmon will, perchance, contain some matter new to those 
who may be, either from experience or study, familiar with 
its life history ; but they are written mainly for those who 
may be anxious to acquire some general information as to 
the fish they are so anxious to capture, and with the hope 
that such knowledge as the author has acquired during 
many years of fishing experience may be of use to them when 
they find themselves face to face with some unexpected 
difficulty or problem connected with salmon life. 

Those theories, which offer some new solution for well- 
known phenomena associated with Salmonidae, are suggested 



228 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

by the most probable and natural influence of their own 
instinct. 

The Life of the Salmon 

If the reader should, in the early spring, be wandering 
beside the upper and more shallow waters of any salmon 
river, his attention may possibly be attracted to certain 
mounds of gravel rising from the bottom of the stream. 
He will observe that these mounds are kept clean and free 
from mud by the sweep of the current in which they are 
situated, and to which they offer some resistance. 

These gravel mounds are called salmon redds, and they 
are formed by the female salmon when spawning. 

During the autumnal and winter spawning season the 
female fish, after first making a depression or trough 
in the gravel and driving out all muddy or weedy sediments 
by fin and tail action, deposits her ova in the depression 
she has thus made. The eggs, which are heavy to a certain 
degree, will remain on the gravel when thus deposited, 
and are, or should be, fertilized by the attendant male 
salmon, after which this trough is either intentionally 
or accidentally filled up by the disturbed gravel as the 
fish continue to spawn up-stream, and thus the eggs are 
safely buried below perfectly clean gravel matter, from 
which all deleterious substance, such as silt and mud, has 
been swept away, by the struggles of the fish when spawning, 
assisted by tail and fin action. 

If fertilization does not take place the eggs absorb water, 
and become opaque. 

No matter how cold and empty may appear the river 
you are watching, hundreds of thousands of tiny lives are 
healthily pulsating beneath these stream-swept redds, and 
steadily, as the temperature of the river rises, are becoming 
daily more capable of breaking through the elastic covering 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 229 

which now encloses them, and of emerging as alevin amid 
the crevices of their pebbly surroundings. Even here, while 
yet in the egg in the apparent security of the redds, their 
tiny existence is continually threatened. Fish may root 
them out ; the larvae of the stone-fly, caddis-fly, May-fly, 
and dragon-fly may penetrate the crevices of the redds, 
and seize them in their voracious grasp ; the water-rat 
and moorhen may gobble them up, floods may destroy them, 
or droughts may leave the redds high and dry, and the ova 
exposed to frost or dry air. All these dangers are possible, 
and many of them are but too common. 

But haply none of these dangers may disturb the eggs in 
the redds we are observing. Each egg is now in itself a 
separate and detached entity, and as such is individually 
affected by its own particular and immediate surroundings. 
In appearance it is a translucent elastic ball, less than 
J inch in diameter, of which a gallon measure would hold 
some 25,000, about the number deposited by a 27-pound 
salmon during any one spawning season ; and yet, think 
you, what possibilities may lie in any one such minute atom ! 
As I write this I have lifted my eyes from my paper, and 
they have rested on the skeleton head of my 50-pound 
Norwegian salmon, and as I recall the splendid fight he 
made years ago, it seems difficult to picture him as being 
once but one of the wee, small atoms now pulsating beneath 
the gravel covering we are considering. 

The temperature of the water in each salmon stream 
is the principal factor which determines the period during 
which the young salmon remains in the egg. 

The Alevin 

This period will, of course, vary with the particular 
warmth or coldness of each stream : with a temperature 
of some 43° F. the eggs may hatch out in about loo days. 



230 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

while with a temperature of 36° F. the eggs will take about 
115 days. It is supposed that after about 160 days the egg 
may be considered dead, or incapable of producing living 
alevin. This I am inclined to doubt, Nature under adverse 
circumstances extending life and preserving the vitality of 
the eggs in the moist atmosphere of a redd even when 
exposed by the lack of water in a rainless season. Cold 
retards the development, but does not deprive the ova of 
their vitality, so long as the eggs are moist and in a moist 
atmosphere. From ten to fifteen weeks, may, however, be 
taken as covering the average period of incubation, provided 
that no abnormal circumstances arise to check the process. 
At the end of this period the walls of the egg break open, 
probably owing to the growth and strength of its inhabitant, 
and the alevin emerges. It is supposed by some that the 
young fish nibbles its way through the shell. As, however, 
the mouth of the alevin does not appear capable of a mus- 
cular movement sufficiently great to effect this, I think 
this must be a purely analogous supposition based on the 
known action of young birds, etc. For a period of about 
five weeks the alevin generally remains hidden amid the 
crevices of the gravel and pebbles forming the redd. After it 
has left the egg, its food is provided by the yolk or umbilical 
sac attached to its body, which not only hinders its move- 
ments and compels it to remain within the shelter of the redd, 
but provides it with sufficient food to sustain life and add to 
its strength and growth (see Plate XXVII). 

The Salmon Fry 

Once again a higher or lower temperature plays an 
important part in shortening or lengthening the alevin 
stage of the salmon fry. At the end of this stage, the 
length of which varies from five to eight weeks, it has 
greatly increased in size, and measures from 1 to IJ 







< 

CO 

o 
z 

o 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 231 

inches in length. As the last vestige of the sac disappears 
the alevin existence is ended, and the fry stage is entered 
upon. The tiny fish now begins to feed upon the minute 
water insects, etc., surrounding it as it slowly works its 
way upward or outward by gentle degrees to the surface 
or side of the redd, whence as it emerges it is possibly at 
once swept away by the current, and unless it can find some 
immediate shelter will most probably fall a victim to its 
numerous and watchful foes. But, tender and inexperienced 
as is the young fish, it is by no means lacking in wisdom. 
Instinct guides it, and, luckily eluding its many enemies, 
it finds its way to the nearest shelter, of which it 
immediately takes advantage, and happily secures, below a 
pebble or under some neighbouring root, a safe and com- 
fortable home for the early days of its parr life. 

It will be, then, in the shallows of this river, near its 
original home, that it remains until the following, or 
perhaps the second or even the third, spring after its birth. 

The Appearance of the Parr 

His growth is very rapid, and he gradually assumes 
the delightful beauty and colouring by which the parr is 
recognized. Four months after leaving the egg he will 
measure 2J inches, and in six months 3| inches. He is 
slimmer, more graceful and more beautifully bright than 
the troutlet, but with the exception of the posterior or 
adipose fin, which has, unlike that of the trout, no shade of 
vermilion edging in it, he is similar to a troutlet of a like 
size. The transverse finger-marks common to the parr, 
about eleven in number, are frequently found on young trout, 
while the bright vermilion spots so dearly beloved by all 
trout fishermen are, previous to the smolt stage of the 
salmon also common to both fish. 

The food during the parr period consists of the water- 



232 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

insect life, the young of other fish, worms, small eels, and 
water shrimps ; and when the supply has been plentiful it 
will have grown, until in the following spring its length is 
from 5 to 7 inches, and its weight from 2| to 3| ounces. 

The Smolt 

In the first, second, or third spring succeeding its 
appearance as an alevin a gradual change takes place in 
the parr as its smolt stage approaches. It seldom rises 
at a fly, its body gradually acquires a scaly covering, and 
the beautiful markings of the parr state disappear beneath 
this new and protective armour. (See Plate XXVIII.) 

During these spring months it and the other parr who 
have also changed their appearance and entered the smolt 
stage, urged by that instinct which has so far guided them 
in safety, with one accord make their way rapidly to the sea. 

Mostly following the sides and shallow parts of the 
stream, but in the dangerous rapids keeping well down in 
the river channel, they drop down stream towards the sea ; 
at times they may be seen flashing like bolts of silver down 
the cascades and shooting over the caps of the big falls. 
Passing gradually from the purer and colder waters of the 
upper river into the muddy and warmer waters of the tidal 
reaches, they finally emerge into the cool, food-abounding 
paradise of their ocean inheritance. 

A considerable difference of opinion, however, exists 
as to this change of the parr into the smolt — not only as 
regards the percentage of fish in each year's hatch which 
leave in the spring of the following or succeeding year, but 
also as to the sex of those which change during these years. 

It has so far been impossible to determine this question 
with certainty, even in regard to the results of each par- 
ticular year's hatch of domesticated alevin. How much 
more difficult is the problem where wUd fish have to be 




o 

X 

m 

Q 
Z 

< 

O 

Q 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 233 

considered. As regards wild parr, their change into the 
smolt stage should bear an intimate relationship to the 
particular locality and the food, as well as to the meteoro- 
logical conditions of each season. In unconfined water, 
therefore, close observation can only attempt approximate 
conclusions as to the times at which the parr of any par- 
ticular season's hatch change into the smolt, and as to the 
sexes affected at the various times of this change. It may be 
assumed that meteorological conditions affect the periods 
over which the parr stage extends, and it is not improbable 
that the male parr is, as a rule, the first to leave that state. 

The Aim of Nature 

There is, so far as I know, no evidence to disprove this 
suggestion, while there are many arguments in favour of its 
consideration. Nature and the laws of natural selection 
are opposed to inbreeding, the aim of Nature appearing 
always to favour the union of the sexes of different stocks. 
The migration, therefore, of the male fish in the first spring 
would, on his return from the sea, throw him into contact 
with the female of another generation, and most probably 
of other parentage, and so on. 

It may be assumed that a minority of parr in any one 
season's hatch migrate after one year's river life, that a large 
majority of those left behind as parr migrate after two years, 
and the small remainder, probably the weaker ones, after 
the third year. 

But, whatever may be the approximate facts, food and 
temperature will be serious factors in the development of 
the smolt and the time of its migration to the sea. 

We wUl now follow the smolt of the first year as he darts 
with a multitude of his fellows from the river into the sea. 

He has at this time all the well-known characteristics 
of the salmon both in appearance and habits, and he is yet 



234 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

but a little fellow who has to depend entirely on his own 
resources during his three to five months' stay in salt water. 
Luckily for him he is full of life and vigour, and his river 
training has given him wonderful speed and quickness, 
while his good fairy, Instinct, is always with him. 

The Smolt in Salt Water 

Nothing is definitely known as to the wanderings of the 
smolt after reaching the sea, either as to the period which 
elapses before he leaves the company of his fellow-smolts, 
or of the distances to which his travels thereafter extend. 
What we do know is that the chemical properties of the salt 
water are most favourable ; that his enemies are numerous 
and voracious ; that his food is plentiful and wonder- 
fully nourishing, and his appetite abnormal ; that, escaping 
from the ogres of the wonderland in which he travels, he 
increases in size and strength in a most remarkable manner ; 
and that, after satisfying his feeding instincts and stuffing 
to repletion, he is called by his fairy godmother, and guided 
amid the hills and valleys, the trackless plains and forests 
of the ocean floor, back to the home he left. It is possible 
that, as he nears his destination, some perceptible flavour 
of his own river may entice him nearer ; but whatever the 
ties may be which draw him home, he may be found in 
the following year a full-grown grilse of from three to six 
pounds in weight, with numbers of other grilse of his own 
season, in the lower reaches of the salmon rivers, waiting 
for a further call to take him away back to the upland 
stream of his birth. 

During the last six years owing to the development of 
the science of scaleology — to coin a new word — it has been 
conclusively proved that a grilse seldom returns to his 
river during the year in which he goes down to the sea as 
a smolt, and that if a fish does happen to do so, it does not 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 235 

acquire the average weight which grilse are supposed to have, 
viz., from three to six pounds, but would be of considerably 
smaller size. 

The Return to Fresh Water 

There are varying periods in which the smolts of any 
one year's descent may return to fresh water. 

The first of these to return are then known as grilse, 
and they may appear at any time from June to December 
in the year following their descent as smolts to salt water. 

The next to return are known as small spring iish (salmon). 
These will appear in the spring following that in which the 
grilse return, and these salmon will in their turn be followed 
in the summer and autumn by the summer and autumn 
salmon respectively. 

The dates of the return of the salmon for the first time 
to their own river should not be considered as being due to 
any other cause than that the opportunity and the desire 
to run are co-incident. When circumstances are favour- 
able and the fish are willing, then will they make their 
up-stream run but when circumstances are not so favour- 
able, or when they are not desirous, they will not do so. 

These varying times for the return of salmon to fresh 
water have been alluded to by different writers as divided 
immigration, and by some have been considered as denoting 
different types of salmon. 

The Grilse or Salmon 

Here again meteorological conditions affect his move- 
ments, and when the condition of the water in the river up 
which he has to ascend is favourable, his instinct again 
sets him going. It is now that all the strength and stamina 
won during his salt-water experience is required to carry 
him safely through the perils and the difficulties of the 



236 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

up-stream run. Not only has he to elude the wiles of the 
fishermen and the onslaught of the otter, but he has to 
fight against the bewildering turmoil of the rapids, and the 
more deadly and difficult ascent of the falls down which, 
as a smolt, he was carried a few months before. It is here, 
faced with the thundering fury of the towering fall, that the 
difficulties and dangers of the journey culminate. It can 
only be this ever-compelling instinct which nerves him 
to encounter such dangers, and which also prompts the 
tremendous effort, and indicates the only place in the 
descending waters which he must strike in order to gain 
the haven above. 

But with the grUse or the salmon the attempt is made, 
and though some may be killed and others stunned and torn, 
yet the rest conquer, and — instances of the survival of the 
fittest — are soon proceeding on their way up-stream. It is 
on this upward journey that the grilse of four pounds may 
perchance pass the smolts of three ounces — members of his 
own redd and hatched from the same batch of eggs — on their 
way down to salt water. 

The Return when Injured 

When hurt in his upward course to the spawning grounds, 
instinct again impels immediate action. Stronger and 
more imperative than spawning is the instinct of self- 
preservation. Fatal would be a stay in fresh waters with 
that gaping wound in his silvery side, for most assuredly 
would the zoospores of the dreaded saprolegnia enter the 
abrasions in his skin, and speedily destroy him.* It is onl}' 

* The Saprolcg>iia Feian. the fungus mentioned above, is said by Mr. J. 
Home Pattison, in " The Cause of Sahnon Disease " not to be the fungiis of 
the sahnon disease, the latter being due to a different baciUus — the Bacillus 
Salmon Testis - which taking ad\antage of wounds or abrasions in the exo- 
skeleton of the Salmon, bores its way into the tissues of the epidennis, and 
dennis. It appears to be carried by the water and to affect fish other than 
salmon. 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 237 

in the health-giving waters of the sea that a cure can be 
effected, and instinctively, therefore, will the grilse or the 
salmon turn and make his way to the sea whenever his scales 
are destroyed and his skin torn. Thus it is not unlikely 
that the actual spawning of a salmon may not take place 
until it has spent four or five years in the sea, and this 
delay may be accounted for by accidents which happen 
to him on his former spawning trips, and compel his return 
to the sea. 

The smolts of any one's year's migration will provide 
spawning salmon for any one of the five following years. 
The great majority of the fish of each migration which do 
return, will do so during the next three years, while the 
remainder of the returning fish from the same year's 
migration will do so in the fourth or fifth succeeding year. 
No other reason can be given for the irregular return 
of each season's migrating fish than that due to a 
provision of nature to insure a more certain distribution 
or mixing on the spawning beds of the progeny of different 
salmon. 

Salmon are irregular both as to the time of their return and 
also as to the river they ascend. The early or late ascent 
peculiar to different rivers — by which they are known as 
early and late waters — is due to their temperature and local 
climate, but each river may vary as regards the exact date 
at which salmon run, being earlier or later as the river 
alters in the volume of its flow. 

Spawning 

To return then, to our grilse or salmon ; he has at last 
reached the gravelly beds of the upper stream of his own 
river. Natural selection, possibly assisted by repeated 
combat, will decide his mate, and the female salmon, when 
her condition is ripe, lying on her side, will with lateral 



238 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

movements of tail and fins, sweep the sand and fine gravel 
away from her body, and thus form a hollow trough, into 
which she proceeds to deposit a portion of her ova, 
the male fish meanwhile acting as guard, keeping off other 
male fish, and also the predatory attacks of troutlets, 
parr, etc. Directly the female has finished each batch of 
ova, the male darts over and fertilizes them with his milt, 
and the gravel is then swept over them. 

Both male and female salmon decrease in weight after 
spawning, and are then in the kelt or unclean stage. The 
greater the time spent by the fish in fresh water prior to 
spawning, the more discoloured does it become and as a kelt 
it will exhibit a disgusting comparison to its condition 
as a fresh run salmon. It is not impossible that a so- 
called " well-mended kelt " may owe its comparatively 
clean condition to the fact that it has been but a short 
time in fresh water, or that it is a late run salmon which 
has not spawned in a natural manner, but which has spent 
or otherwise discharged its ova, and has not yet fallen back 
to the salt water.* 

Those fish which have been for several months in the 
river, will be of a dun, or dirty looking red colour, or even of 
a black appearance, and under whatever circumstances 
they have discharged their ova they will be exhausted and 
spent, and exhibit on their scales the so-called spawning 
marks, which are in reality the decrepitation of portions of 
the scale owing to the genital changes and poor condition 
to which they have arrived. 

It must also be remembered that in rivers which offer 
no great difficulty to ascending salmon, such as the Wye, 
fish running clean and bright from the sea, very late in the 
season, and spawning in December or January, might not, 

* For a full discussion on this point see the chapter on the Scale Markings 
of Salmon, p. 249. 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 239 

if caught immediately after spawning, exhibit any great 
amount of discoloration, etc., but they might be, and 
very often are treated, as kelts which have recovered their 
clean appearance after having deteriorated prior to 
spawning. In other words, the so-called bright and clean 
kelts which are captured in February and March may never 
have been in any other condition since leaving the sea, and 
cannot be regarded as " well-mended kelts." 

A great deal of literature has been devoted to the problem 
affecting the clean salmon's pursuit of all moving objects 
after it has left the salt water, and various explanations have 
been, advanced to account for its apparent appetite in fresh 
water prior to spawning. The changes which occur in the 
stomach and alimentary canal of a fresh-run salmon while 
in fresh water preclude its taking food, and there have been 
few authentic cases of a clean fish ever having been dis- 
covered in fresh water with food in its stomach. 

Rejection of Food when Captured 

A salmon when in fresh water appears to pursue and take 
in its mouth any moving or novel object which it sees, 
unless the object be too big, or the salmon be frightened 
or warned by some former unhappy experience. What 
is the reason for this action ? Some, ignoring the physical 
changes in the alimentary regions, declare that the salmon 
takes the food into the stomach, but that directly it is 
hooked, or finds itself in a net, it discharges the entire con- 
tents of the stomach. 

Mr. H. Cholmondeley-Pennell advanced the theory of 
the rejection of all food as a possible solution of the empty 
condition of the salmon's stomach when caught in fresh 
water, and instances a case where 716 salmon caught 
in a net — in salt water — were seen to discharge quantities 
of small eels as the net approached the shore. This, 



240 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

however, only affects the question of the fish in salt water 
when their stomachs are in the normal condition, and 
therefore this evidence of Mr. Pennell's does not help 
matters. 

Aggressiveness of Salmon 

Salmon in fresh water do not appear to be hungry 
but rather savage, and their attitude is more aggressive 
than voracious. The leaf floating on the surface of the 
stream is seized, bitten, and rejected ; the lure of the 
fisherman is seized, and, so far as my experience goes, is 
never swallowed. I have never hooked a clean salmon, 
even when spinning with the natural minnow, save in the 
mouth, and generally in the tongue or jaws ; nor have I 
heard of the triangle being found embedded except in 
the mouth or upper part of the throat of a clean salmon. It 
is certain that when a salmon is feeding it neither masticates 
nor attempts to masticate its food ; indeed, its teeth are 
unfitted for such a process, and directly the prey is seized 
it is swallowed. This alone should dispel any belief in the 
theory that a clean fish feeds in fresh water ; for if it did 
so, the bait, when it was seized, would be immediately 
swallowed, and innumerable cases would occur in which the 
salmon would have to be cut open in order to liberate the 
hooks attached to the lure. One powerful argument which 
has to be met is, that salmon are frequently caught with 
worms as bait, and if the hooks to which these worms are 
attached were found in the stomach of the salmon, an 
even stronger case would have to be answered ; but so far 
as my information goes, these hooks are not found in the 
stomach.* Eels, and worm-like larvae are as great a danger 
to the salmon ova and alevin as any other denizen of fresh 

* A hook baited with worms would be the most likely lure to be swallowed. 
Their slippery nature would suggest their being more easily admitted into the 
congested alimentary canal than other classes of food. 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 241 

water, and thus their destruction by the salmon may be 
regarded as natural. 

The Sustenance of Salmon 

Salmon, it has been affirmed, when in fresh water, 
live on their cream — that is, the adipose matter distributed 
through their body — until spawning operations are over, 
even as the hibernating fish live on their fat until their 
winter is past. The loss of the appetite of the salmon is 
natural when the object of their visit to fresh water is 
remembered — that is, to spawn. The insect and fish life 
of a river is insufficient to sustain an inrush of healthy 
feeding salmon with appetites such as are common to these 
fish when in salt water ; hence if their appetites continued 
all living creatures in the fresh waters of the salmon river 
might possibly be destroyed, and the salmon would not, in 
succeeding years, leave the salt water, where food is plentiful, 
and enter an empty river, however strong their spawning 
instincts, and for this reason — an appetite would imply a 
necessity for food, which food would in such a case be 
unobtainable. 

The Author's Theory 

What, then, causes them to pursue and seize moving 
objects prior to spawning ? 

It has been shown that the guiding influence of their 
life is instinct, and instinct in this case makes them destruc- 
tive. A similar impulse pervades all Nature, and teaches 
the parent to destroy or to drive off any creatures that 
are likely to endanger the safety of its young. Salmon 
enter fresh water for one purpose alone, and instinct teaches 
them that all moving inhabitants of fresh water constitute 
a future danger to the well-being of the defenceless young 
which they must leave behind. 

17 



242 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

I have, when well concealed from sight, while watch- 
ing salmon, quietly thrown in preserved minnows, worms, 
and snails. These have been seized, chewed, and, as far 
as I could see, invariably rejected by the salmon. Nature, 
despite its immutable laws of supply and demand, is 
rarely destructive for destruction's sake, and the salmon's 
attack on moving objects is actuated by the absolutely 
natural law which dictates the safety and survival of 
the species. 

As the spawning season of trout approaches they lose 
their appetites and their condition, and though at times 
food is doubtless swallowed and enters the stomach of 
the trout, it appears to lead to trouble. The few cases 
in which it is stated that food has been found in the stomach 
of clean salmon when in fresh water may be regarded as 
the exceptions, which justify the contention that salmon 
cease feeding when about to spawn. 

Other Theories 

Those who hold that salmon feed when in fresh water 
account for the accepted emptiness of their stomachs 
as being due either to the immediate assimilation of the 
food they swallow, owing to the powerful action of their 
gastric juices, or else to the assumption that salmon vomit 
forth the contents of their stomachs directly they are 
hooked or netted, and before being handled. This school 
of thinkers admit, however, that the appetites of the fish 
are less when in fresh water than in salt, and that food is but 
seldom found in the stomachs of salmon save when they are 
taken in salt water. If the appetites of salmon are stronger 
in the sea, and if food is partaken of in greater quantities 
than when in fresh water, it follows that the gastric juice 
should, when the fish is in salt water, be proportionately 
more rapid in its action and more powerful in its character. 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 243 

in order to enable the fish to assimilate the greater amount 
of the food they then take. Only, however, on the reverse 
assumption — that in fresh water the gastric juice is increasing 
instead of diminishing in its power — can the members 
of this school of belief explain the theory they advance, 
i.e., the rapid assimilation of the food the salmon swallows 
in fresh water, while still having to admit, that obviously 
the gastric juices have had no such rapid solvent effect, 
at any rate in relation to the food-evidence they advance 
in order to prove their contention. 

In order to justify his belief that salmon feed while in 
fresh water, a contributor to a sporting paper recently 
related the following facts : A salmon of 14 pounds — 
presumably a fresh-run fish— was killed and taken home, 
and on being opened was found to contain a rat in its 
stomach. This rat — which is the evidence he advances that 
salmon feed in fresh water — must have been swallowed some 
time before, but it had not, apparently, suffered from the 
attack of the gastric juices which this writer claims as being 
so powerful a solvent that " any food that is swallowed is 
almost immediately assimilated." Neither had it been 
vomited, as it should have been if the vomiting theory held 
by others of his opinion can be accepted as accurate. 

In a second instance, he states that a huge kelt was 
captured in his presence which had in its mouth a partially 
swallowed |-pound trout, perfectly fresh and apparently 
just seized. The head and shoulders had been reduced to 
a mere pulp, and he considers that the rapid action of the 
salmon's gastric juices accounted for the pulp-like condition 
of that portion of the trout even before it reached the 
stomach of the salmon, for he states that the tail end, from 
the dorsal fin, was uninjured. The trout in this instance 
cannot be taken as proof that the salmon swallows food, but 
only that he would like to, and apparently makes the 



244 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

attempt while in fresh water. Now, if the salmon's stomach 
was in the normal feeding condition this small trout should 
have been completely swallowed by the huge kelt, even as 
the rat was swallowed by the small salmon ; in which case 
not the head only, but the whole of the trout would have 
entered the stomach of the salmon, and would have 
been reduced to pulp. Salmon have been found in estuaries 
with full-sized herrings in their stomachs. If they are 
capable of swallowing full-sized herrings, it is obvious that 
a huge kelt would have no difficulty at all in swallowing a 
|-pound trout. The rat, however, found completely in 
the stomach was undigested. These contradictions may 
be taken as samples of the proofs (sic) and arguments 
advanced to show that not only do clean salmon eat and 
swallow food, but that this is the aim and object of their 
onslaught on things living and moving in fresh water. 
Two totally dissimilar results of swallowing, or attempting 
to swallow, food are advanced to prove this theory ; in 
neither case are these arguments successful. 

A fish will often seize another which is too large for it 
to swallow. A fish so seized enters the throat of its captor, 
and apparently sticks in that position ; fish have been at 
times caught on a lure in these circumstances. One end 
of the smaller fish, when removed from the larger one, is 
more or less in a pulpy condition, or at least shows some 
signs of decomposition, and it has always appeared to me 
to be an open question as to the causes which have produced 
this condition in the smaller fish. The contributor to the 
Fishing Gazette mentioned above considers it due to the 
action of the gastric juices, and if this is so these gastric 
juices must have been in the throat, and not in the 
stomach ; he ignores the effect of the vomeral bone and 
teeth, throat pressure, and muscular action, to say nothing 
of the laceration of the other teeth. 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 245 

While fishing Mr. George Beck's stretch of the Evanger 
River, Norway, in 1899, Mr. Arthur Wellington Naylor 
hooked a fresh-run 20-pound salmon forty miles from the 
sea, and having no lice on it. The triangle of the lure 
which he had been using was fixed in the upper and lower 
jaw of the fish, completely closing its mouth. After the 
fish was gaffed, the tail of a parr 4 inches long, half digested, 
was seen protruding from its mouth. This happened in 
July. This evidence is important. The parr had 
apparently been swallowed, and the fact that no sea-lice 
were on the salmon argued that the salmon had been some 
days out of salt water. It is by no means an uncommon 
thing for salmon to clear forty miles of the lower stretches 
of a river with sea-lice on them. I have killed salmon 
fifty miles from the sea having sea-lice on them. The 
deduction which can be made from this fact is that this 
particular salmon had been some little time in fresh water ; 
that either during that time or after it left salt water it had 
taken and kept in some part of its alimentary system a parr, 
which when hooked it had endeavoured to disgorge ; 
but, owing to the fact that its jaws were firmly held together 
by the triangle, the parr when rejected from the thorax, 
could not pass between them. This is an argument in 
favour of the assumption that salmon do at times take 
matter as food while in fresh water, and that this food has 
the appearance of being partially digested, but not that it 
enters their stomach. 

The Gastric Glands of Salmon 

Dr. J. Kingston Barton states definitely that the digestive 
organs of salmon taken with rod and line, and examined 
by himself, were " absolutely normal." This from such an 
authority appears conclusive, in so far as the healthiness and 
normality of such organs are concerned, but it does not of 



246 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

necessity imply that these organs were active, or inclined 
to be active ; while healthy, their powers might still be 
in abeyance. If the digestive organs of a hibernating 
animal were examined, they would undoubtedly be 
found in a normal condition, as would the digestive 
organs of Dr. Sacchi during the course of one of his 
long fasts. 

If, indeed, the gastric glands of either the bear or 
the doctor were actively discharging their contents on to 
the delicate tissues of an empty stomach, it is certain that 
the bear would not sleep, and that the doctor would not 
rest, during the fast. The gastric glands and the juices 
they supply may be regarded as the agents in preparing the 
nutritive properties of food for conversion into blood. In 
certain physically or mentally unhealthy conditions of life, 
the gastric glands will at times discharge gastric juice after 
the stomach has emptied itself, generally causing thereby 
stomachic trouble and may be insomnia. 

In healthy fresh-run salmon we may assume that the 
digestive organs, though normal, are merely inoperative. 
The salmon have ceased to feed, the stomach becomes 
empty, and, as a consequence, exhibits a very natural 
contraction, sufficient to cause a difficulty in receiving food.* 
On this latter and important point many writers seem to 
agree, while a small minority of fishermen continue to assert 
that the stomach does receive food, and that the salmon 
does in reality continue to feed when in fresh water. A 
feasible suggestion has been advanced by Dr. Barton to 
account for salmon apparently coming on the feed when in 
fresh water. He says : " Knowing that the digestive organs 

* When those who have become seriously exhausted from want of food, either 
through accident as in the case of shipwrecked sailors, or through design as in 
the case of Dr. Sacchi, the alimentary passages into the stomach contract, 
and when feeding again commences, unless nourishment is administered in 
small quantities, and in an easily assimilated form, great pain and the gravest 
results may occur. 



THE LIFE OF THE SALMON 247 

are only in abeyance, one can easily understand why a tired 
and slightly hungry fish will dash at a morsel that simulates 
some food of its liking." 

The pursuit of the lure by a salmon may possibly be 
induced by an appetite, which is excited as a result of 
fatigue, but which appetite it is prevented from satisfying. 
The instincts of spawning have induced it to leave the ocean 
in which it has been feeding, and were the stomach, etc., 
to continue to receive food the gratification of appetite might 
deter the salmon from the arduous work of ascending 
its river. Hence it is not improbable that Nature by 
preventing it from swallowing food, turns its attention once 
more to the up-stream journey. 

Salmon continue to feed, i.e., to take the lure, for some 
days after they have entered a new pool, and that in most 
cases long after any physical exhaustion, produced by the 
effort, would have disappeared. 

A General View 

Salmon, like trout, may feed prior to and when spawn- 
ing, and they may or may not at such times swallow food. 
Their gastric juices may sometimes act with lightning result, 
then again at others, as in the case of the rat, be inoperative, 
and they may both feed and swallow during a period when 
others of their kind cease feeding ; but such isolated cases as 
are advanced, even if they be considered as proved, should 
be regarded as exceptions tending to prove a general rule. 
But that salmon do not feed, in the general sense of the 
word, prior to or during their spawning operations is, I 
think, acknowledged by most people, and hence the 
pursuit of the denizens of fresh-water may be due to the 
instinctive desire to preserve their species from the inevit- 
able dangers of any attack, and therefore my theory may 
be worthy of some attention. 



248 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

It may also be a reasonable supposition to imagine that 
the salmon, whether hungry or not, and whether capable 
of swallowing or of assimilating any food it may seize, may 
be still influenced by the feeding habits which have been so 
strongly developed during its visit to salt water, and that, 
continuing the attack on all moving objects, it unconsciously 
fulfils a natural duty which tends to the future safety of its 
young. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE SCALES OF THE SALMON ID^ 

The scales of the Salmonidae — Scale growth — ^The physiological changes 
in the condition of salmon — ^Discoloured fish — ^Estuary of the 
Severn — ^The Wye — Icelandic rivers— The respective influences 
of salt and fresh water on salmon — ^The question — ^The ova of 
salmon — Mr. Hutton and the Spawning mark — The varying 
number of rings on a scale — ^The examination of a salmon's scale — 
The scales of salmon from the river Add — The Add and the Wye — 
Mr, Gathorne-Hardy — ^The river Awe — Synopsis. 

It should not be foreign to the scope of this work to 
consider the interesting problems which are associated with 
the markings on the scales of the salmonidae. This study, 
though in its infancy, has already added much knowledge 
concerning the life and habits of our salmon to the pages 
of natural history. 

We are indebted to the pioneers of this new science — 
naturalists and writers such as Dr. Hoffbauer, Dr. Giinther, 
Messrs. Johnston, Hutton,* Calderwood, Malloch, Dr. Master- 
man, Dr. Dahl, Professor Hickson and others, and to the 
interesting articles which have appeared in The Field, The 
Fishing Gazette, The Salmon and Trout Magazine, The 
Scottish Field, etc., for the data on which the greater 
portion of this new science is based. 

It is owing to my analysis of such data, supplemented 
by my own experience and from the information I have 
obtained from those in control of the netting operations in 
our big rivers, that I have ventured to differ from certain 
conclusions which have been drawn from the markings 

* The careful research and instructive data given in Mr. J. A. Hutton's 
article in the Salmon and Trout Magazine are particularly valuable. 

249 



260 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

on the scales of a salmon, and which conclusions in my 
opinion prevent the life history of the salmon from being 
accurately determined. 

The Scales of the Salmonid^ 

These scales are known as cycloid scales. They grow 
from folds or pockets in the skin, as small thin and trans- 
parent flaky pellicles of a homogeneous character, invisible 
to the naked eye. 

They are developed in the early life of the troutlet, or 
the parr, as soft and pliable additions to the epidermis or 
outer skin, and as the development of the fish takes place 
they gradually harden and become as characteristic as shells, 
nails, claws, hair, and the exo-skeleton coverings of other 
living creatures. 

The first pellicle forms the nucleus of the scale, and this 
is being continually added to as the fish grows, each fresh 
increase extending itself in all directions in the same plane, 
and slightly beyond the edge of the preceding addition. 

When the scales of a maiden fish are removed, and placed 
under a lens, each growth appears as a more or less noticeable 
band extending beyond, but concentric to the edges of all 
the preceding laminae. 

It will be seen that from these markings we can, until 
decrepitation has occurred, deduce the past history of 
the life of the salmon. The width of the protruding 
edges of each newly formed lamina will depend on the 
growth of the fish, i.e., on the amount of skin surface which 
has to be protected ; the rapidity of its growth again 
depending on the nature and amount of the food it has taken. 

There is but little difference between the skin of the 
parr and that of the small trout, but the following distinction 
between the two fish can be made by the fisherman. First, 
the tail of the parr will gradually assume the forked or lobed 



PLATE XXVIIlA. 



/^W^^---"' 









m 



mm 




rd.Yr 



2nd Yr 



Scale of Young Salmon showing Seasonal Markings. 



PLATE XXVIIlB. 




X^ 



Scale of 25^^ lb. Spri.ng !• ish, Wye. — Hen. 

Denudation showing spawning visit, but the annular markings do not 

show the correct age of fish. See page 275. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMON ID^ 251 

appearance common to the salmon, while the anterior 
edge of the trout's tail will always present a straight edge 
when the tail is opened. Secondly, the adipose fin of the 
parr is always without pink colour, while the trout's adipose 
fin has always a more or less pink spot or colouring. It is 
not until the smolt stage of the parr approaches that a 
difference is first noticed in the appearance of the skin, when, 
either from a changing physiological condition in the young 
salmon, or from a greater absorption of the material elements 
of which the skeleton and exo-skeleton are built, fresh 
laminae more rapidly succeed each other, and as each 
fresh addition is added to the young scale its superficial area 
is increased by the width of the latest formed band of scale 
material (see Plate XXVIIIa). 

The scales thus expand, and become imbricated at their 
posterior ends. This overlapping does not stop the growth 
of this portion of the scale, however, for the ducts which 
must supply the material from which the scale is formed 
still continue their functions. 

The scale, as it grows, now presents the appearance of 
a delicate silvery armour, which characterizes the advent of 
the smolt period, and so long as the smolt, grilse or salmon 
is healthy and in good condition, this silvery sheen will be 
retained by the exposed portion of its scales. 

The brilliant opalescent glaze of the scale is transmitted 
by some iridescent pigment in the membranous covering, 
possibly of a calcareous nature, which, if examined under a 
magnifying glass, will recall the iridescent lustre often 
seen in the track of snails. The formation of the 
membranous covering of the scales, in which this brilliant 
sheen occurs, appears to arise from a mucous secretion 
issuing from a similar class of ducts to those which supply 
the material creating the shells of certain of the mollusc 
family. 



252 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The scales cover the body hke the tiles on the roof of 
a house, and the markings on the exposed posterior portion 
of each scale may thus suffer. The markings on the 
anterior and greater portion of the scale surfaces are 
protected by the overlapping of those above them, and are 
only affected by physiological conditions such as those 
which take place as the genital changes occur. The change 
— during this period — in the character of the material of 
which the mucous covering of the scale is formed, may to a 
certain extent cause the breaking down of a portion of the 
structure of each scale. 

Prior to spawning, the calcareous or other elements 
giving this brilliant iridescent sheen to a portion of the 
membranous covering of the scale, are possibly required to 
build up the ova of the fish, and as a consequence the 
appearance of the scales suffers, and this membranous 
covering loses its brilliancy and resiliency, becoming dull, 
heavy and coloured. 

As the spawning condition of the salmon approaches, 
the constituents of the mucous matter appear to alter ; 
though it does not seem to decrease in volume, it apparently 
becomes more slimy in character and envelops the scales 
more thickly — especially in the cock fish — and gradually 
merges them more or less into the epidermis. 

Scale Growth 

As the smolt passes into the grilse stage and then into 
that of the salmon, a series of laminae are being continually 
added to the scales, the outer edges of which laminae are 
formed presumably to protect the skin as the body of the 
fish increases in size and outgrows the covering afforded 
by the former growth of scale surface. 

The posterior portions of each addition to the scale 
appear to grow with less rapidity than the anterior 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMON ID^ 253 

portion, and thus, as the salmon grows, the nucleus gradually 
loses its central position in the scale, and tends to approach 
the posterior edge (see Plate XXX.). 

It will also be noticed that the annular bands added to 
the scale are of varying numbers, and width, and if they 
are carefully examined it will be seen that the alternate 
occurrences of the wider and narrower bands form a series, 
and each complete series of such varying widths of these 
annular markings indicate the age as well as the annual 
increase in the size of the fish. 

I consider the explanation generally given by modern 
writers as to the individually varying size of these 
additions to the scale of a salmon worth consideration. 

It is said that the annual periods of decrease in the size 
of the scale bands is due to the limited food supply to be 
found during each winter in the sea. As we do not know 
where the salmon goes to during his summer and winter 
sea life, we cannot know whether or not his winter habitat 
is less happily provided with food material than his summer 
quarters, and therefore if some other reason will provide a 
more satisfactory explanation I think it is worth examination. 

It has been proved that a salmon, if kept in fresh water, 
and isolated, will year by year, as the spawning season 
comes, develop the condition of a spawning salmon, will 
neglect its food, will suffer in appearance, etc., and we can 
safely assume that salmon in salt water, even if they do not 
visit the coast,* also develop certain of the genital changes 
associated with the creation of ova, as each spawning 
season approaches, i.e., winter time, and it is not improbable 
that at such times, as with all other fish, their appetites 

* It may be that most if not all the fish of each year's batch of smolts may 
visit our shores as shoals of grilse or young salmon, but that many members of 
each such shoal may either be unable to ascend, or not in a condition to wish 
to ascend, the river of their birth, and that these return to the sea until a 
more favourable opportunity. 



264 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

decrease, and little or no food is taken by them. Their 
bodies do not increase in size to any considerable extent, 
and nature is therefore not called upon to make any very 
great increase in the size of the scales. 

I cannot agree that the diminution of the annular 
markings can be considered as being due — as has been 
suggested — to disturbance of the salmon while on their 
feeding ground. It is far too regular in its occurrence and 
covers too long a period of each annual series. 

Trout and their Scales 

Trout will also develop their scales — but more slowly 
than the smolt — as they encounter or pass into waters 
containing (either as an element or a component part of 
its smaller inhabitants) an increasing quantity of lime salts. 
In the waters of New Zealand this exo-skeleton growth is 
very remarkable, the Brown Trout of the Southern Island 
especially developing similar scale markings to those on the 
scales of salmon. The large trout in that country, save 
during the spawning season, appear to reside and flourish 
best in the tidal waters of the rivers, but the exact extent 
of their visit to the sea, if any, has not yet been determined. 

Trout of one year or two years' growth, on leaving the 
streams flowing into Loch Leven and entering its waters, 
develop their scales, which, like the smolt scales, gradually 
conceal their former markings (see Plate XXIX.). 

When young the skin of the ordinary brown trout appears 
to the touch, and when scraped, to be as free from scales as 
the lamprey. In many of our chalk streams, especially 
in rivers like the lower part of the Test, where sub-aqueous 
foods of the water-shrimp variety are plentiful, the scales, 
as they grow, change very considerably the colouring and 
appearance of the trout from that by which it is known in 
the upper portions of its rivers. The scales can be detached 




o 

o 

w 

X 

H 



H 

O 

Di 

H 

w 
> 

w 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONIDiE 255 

from the trout of many of our rivers after the second 
year's growth. 

The development of a Hne of scales forming a silver bar 
on the side of trout is an indication of its health and rapid 
growth, and is not uncommon on our chalk streams. Mr. 
CHnker, the Manager of the Lower Chilland Trout Hatchery, 
Hampshire, tells me that fish thus distinguished always do 
well in the spawning season. This, too, is quite what we 
expect, for the rather unusual growth of scales forming such 
a bar indicates that an abundance of the best food has been 
within reach of such trout. 

Scale Markings 

The edges of the laminae forming the scales of a salmon 
indicate many of the most important events of its life — 
its age, its descent as a smolt to the sea, the varying 
amounts of its summer and winter growths, the physiological 
alterations in its appearance due to its ova-bearing condition, 
its first spawning visit to a river, its return to the sea, its 
recovery there, and the fact that it has made a second or 
even third recurrent visit to fresh waters on spawning intent. 

It is also supposed that the decrepitation of a portion of 
the scale markings proves that a natural and successful act 
of spawning has taken place. 

It is on this latter question that I venture to express a 
doubt. The marking on the scales indicates that, owing 
to genital changes, the condition of the salmon has altered, 
and that it has visited fresh water, but it does not prove 
that it has carried out its life's purpose and spawned in a 
successful and natural manner. This difference must be 
regarded as most important, for the salmon which has 
spawned successfully may well be considered as being 
among the vast majority of fish which perish annually, whilst 
those fish whose attempts to reach a spawning ground or 



256 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

to find a mate have proved abortive, may with reason be 
most naturally expected to be among those which will be 
impelled to revisit the river, and whose marking will, there- 
fore, show a second or even a third period of scale de- 
crepitation. 

It is rarely the case that a male fish is found in a fresh 
run condition in a river, showing on its scales the decrepita- 
tion marks of a former visit to fresh water. This means 
that the male fish is generally successful in the attempt to 
ascend a river, and once having achieved this — the object 
of its life— it seldom, if ever again, even if it survives, 
attempts a subsequent spawning visit. 

In this fact probably lies the explanation of much that 
has hitherto been regarded a problematical, for it may be 
that the male fish, physically stronger, and physically less 
encumbered than the female fish, is able to attain the object 
of its life by reaching the spawning beds in the upper waters 
of its rivers ; whereas the late-running female fish, sexually 
more delicate in its construction and encumbered by its 
ova, is more liable to failure in its initial attempt, and con- 
sequently carries on its scales the evidence of this failure 
in the form of decrepitation marks. 

The Physiological Changes in the Condition of 

Salmon 

The alteration in the condition of the salmon is due in 
the first place to the physiological influences of the genital 
changes, and as a consequence, to the loss of nourishment 
owing to non-feeding, and to the change from salt water 
to tidal or fresh water. 

These three causes physiologically alter the condition of 
the fish and its skin, and the scales which are held therein. 
Attendant on this altered condition the annular markings 
on the posterior portions of the scales may be entirely 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID.E 257 

obliterated up to the central axis of the scale, to a certain 
extent owing to the physiological changes which are 
associated with the act of spawning, but principally to 
the decrepitation which will occur to the exposed surfaces 
from the trituration of gravel, rocks, etc., while the lesser 
decrepitation which takes place in the markings situated 
on other parts of the scale — but chiefly in the lateral — 
can only be due to the changed physiological condition 
of the fish, and to the shrinking of its girth. 

It is probable that the discoloration, if not the direct 
decrepitation of its scale material, is due to the absence of 
some element — possibly calcareous — from the mucous 
matter which forms and nourishes the scales. 

Whatever may be the cause of its absence, the later 
formed laminae of the scale material are the ones to 
suffer, more particularly in the lateral direction. I think 
we owe to Mr. Calderwood the suggestion that scales must 
suffer in the hen fish when the body shrinks as the ova 
of the fish is discharged. Now the fish cannot shrink in 
its length, but only in its girth, and the fact that the 
decrepitation principally occurs in the lateral substantiates 
Mr. Calderwood's theory. 

The decrepitation of the male salmon's scales occurs at 
a relatively early date to that of the female fish, and con- 
sequently they become more marked by the end of the 
season ; this is understandable when it is remembered the 
different effects which a spawning condition has on the 
male and female salmon. 

There does not appear to be any unimpeachable evidence 
that the genital changes produce decrepitation of the scales, 
or even affect the appearance of the salmon while in the sea. 
The arousing of the spawning instincts causes the fish to 
approach our shores, but their appetites appear to be 
unaltered until they enter the estuaries, or as the winter 

18 



258 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

months approach ; until then, the salmon may continue 
to feed while in the sea. 

Discoloured Fish 

The fact that discoloured salmon of both sexes are cap- 
tured in the sea, does not prove that these fish have so 
altered while there. They hang about the estuaries, or in 
the mouths of the rivers — after their arrival in a clean 
condition from the sea — until an opportunity offers to run 
up to the spawning grounds. 

A " fresh run salmon " if it means anything, means a 
fish fresh from the sea ; a fish ascending from an estuary into 
a river, unless it has come direct from the sea should not be 
classed as a " fresh run salmon." 

Salmon undoubtedly make their way up the tidal estuaries 
of our rivers, and some way into fresh water with each 
recurring tide, and descend again as the tide ebbs. This 
may happen daily until a favourable moment occurs for the 
run up the chosen river, but while they are awaiting the 
chance to ascend the river, their appearance and their 
condition undoubtedly alters. 

It is far more natural to assume that the fish which 
are now considered to have become discoloured in the sea, 
are those which, after spending some months in the rivers 
or estuaries, have become discoloured there, and have 
from some impelling, because natural, reason descended to 
the sea and then lost their freedom in the nets. 

Marked, unspawned fish will drop down to the sea, feed, 
acquire weight and return the same year. 

Unspawned salmon have been captured in fresh water 
and marked, and have thereafter gone down to the sea, put 
on from one to two and a half pounds in weight, and after 
from thirty to forty days have elapsed, these fish have been 
recaptured. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID^ 259 

It is a recognized fact that kelts, whether completely 
spent or partially spent, will remain as kelts for many 
months, and will as such, re-ascend their own or other 
rivers from three to five months after being marked. 

I gather from a recent letter to the Fishing Gazette 
(pages 591-2, December 27th, 1913) that Mr. J. Arthur 
Hutton considers that the wearing or disintegration of the 
scales is not necessarily due to the act of spawning, nor to 
its continuation in fresh water, but that it can take place in 
the sea as well as in the river. 

I am perfectly prepared to accept the view advanced 
by Mr. Hutton that disintegration of the scale of a hen fish 
may precede the act of spawning — but if it be so, how can 
such decrepitation be regarded as the sign manual of spawning. 

That the scale of a male fish may become worn prior 
to spawning is a recognized fact, and from Mr. Hutton's 
dictum I have no doubt that, at any rate to a modified 
extent, decrepitation is shown on the scales of a female fish 
prior to its spawning. 

In order that this popular point of view as stated by Mr. 
Hutton, cannot be misunderstood, I venture to quote from 
his letter mentioned above : 

" As regards the question put by your salmon- 
angUng friend as to late autumn fish which rush 
into the river to spawn and back again, there is 
a paper of mine coming out shortly in the 
Salmon and Trout Magazine on this subject ; and 
as a matter of fact the wearing of the scale does not 
take place solely in fresh water, and fish do get, as 
some know, absolutely red and discoloured in the 
sea. In other words the wearing of the scales is not 
due to the fish being in fresh water but is largely 
caused by the building up of the genital organs. 
It will therefore be evident that a late run fish 
might have scales as disintegrated as one that had 
entered the river much earlier." 



260 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

I think Mr. Hutton is relying on the experience he has 
gained by the investigation of salmon caught in the Wye 
and its estuary, which latter ends as it enters the estuary of 
the Severn. I do not think that every salmon captured 
outside the estuary of the Wye, can be definitely proved to 
be Wye salmon, as both Severn and Usk fish are to be 
found anywhere between Beachley and the New Passage. 
Even if all the fish captured in this water were fish on their 
way to the Wye estuary, they can only be considered as 
being estuary fish. This suggestion may tend to modify 
the views that fish can become discoloured and exhibit 
spawning marks in the sea before entering the waters of our 
estuaries. 

The Estuary of the Severn 

The estuary of the Severn can hardly be regarded as the 
sea. A line drawn from Portishead across to Llandaff 
can, however, be considered as enclosing to the east the 
estuary of the Severn, into which, besides the Severn, are 
emptied the waters of the Wye, the Avon, the Usk, etc., 
while salmon rivers, such as the Taff, the Towey, the Parret, 
the Tawe, etc., contribute a certain proportion of their 
salmon to this estuary. No fish caught in the nets to the 
east of this line can, with certainty, be regarded as being more 
than estuary fish, i.e., fish which may have been some time 
in the estuary, or as having, perhaps, been in the lower 
portion of any of the above mentioned rivers. When 
therefore, they are caught above this line, and found to be 
discoloured, I think it may be regarded as probable that 
this discoloration has taken place either in the main estuary or 
in some part of the above mentioned rivers. Anyhow, being 
caught in this estuary, does not prove that they have come 
straight in from the sea — unless they are in an absolutely 
fresh run condition and bright and silvery in appearance. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID^ 261 

It is a known fact that in the Tay estuary, salmon hang 
about the sand banks and gradually become discoloured long 
before they attempt to ascend the river, but no one calls the 
estuary, in which they stay, the sea. Data, therefore, as 
to the condition of salmon captured in the estuaries of our 
rivers, is of no particular value as proving what their 
condition was when leaving the sea. 

The Wye 

From an intimate knowledge of the Wye I should infer 
that of all rivers it is the most unreliable one from which 
to draw general deductions — at least so far as regards the 
fish captured below Tintern. This river differs from others 
in that it not only has a tidal estuary of its own, but that 
this again enters a much larger estuary, into which latter 
estuary other salmon rivers empty themselves. 

In the case of the Wye, the fish captured below Tintern, 
even if they are not fish which have tried to run up the 
Towey, the Tawe, the Taff, the Usk, and gradually 
approached and run up the estuary of the Severn, until 
they reached the mouth of the Wye, might well have 
attained a discoloured or advanced spawning condition in 
the Severn estuary itself, in which they may have been 
lingering for some time since leaving the sea. 

Icelandic Rivers 

Icelandic rivers, for the reverse reason, may be regarded as 
supplying much sounder data as to the condition of fish 
fresh from salt water, and it is therefore advisable to note 
the evidence on this point by Dr. Dahl. He says, in his 
report on the Icelandic Salmon (1913), which report is 
based upon the scales taken from fish caught in or at the 
mouth of the EUidaa, Hvita, Olfusa, and the Haftjordara 
Rivers : — 



262 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

" When the salmon comes from the sea, its scales 
are quite unaffected (only one exception is men- 
tioned) but the longer it remains in the river, the 
more do its scales become affected." 

Can anything be more directly opposed to the theory that 
decrepitation and discoloration takes place in the sea, 
prior to a fish entering an estuary or river on its spawning 
journey up stream ? 

The fact that the material examined by Dr. Dahl con- 
sisted of nearly 3,500 fish, gives great weight to any opinion 
expressed by him. 

A consideration of the entrance of the Icelandic rivers 
above mentioned, on the one hand, and rivers such as the 
Wye and the Tay on the other, show that the value of the 
Icelandic deductions ow that particular point should be con- 
sidered as important, while the value of such investigation, 
when based on the fish caught in the Wye estuary, the 
estuary of the Severn, or indeed in the upper portion of the 
Bristol Channel, cannot be so considered. In the case of 
the Wye and Tay, their estuaries, or the estuaries into which 
their waters run, are of very considerable length, and are 
besides fed by other salmon rivers, and in these respects 
they are totally different from the Icelandic rivers men- 
tioned, which have either no estuaries or very small ones, 
and flow almost directly into the sea. 

One of the reasons which are given as evidence that fish 
become discoloured, etc., in the sea, is that later in the season 
fresh run fish, discoloured fish and discoloured fish with sea 
lice on them, are found running up the river together. 

This is only of importance when it is noticed in the lower 
reaches of the river, and when it is evident that all these 
three classes of fish must have come either from the estuary 
of the river or direct from the sea, but it is no evidence that 
the discoloured ones have acquired their colour while in the 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID.E 263 

sea. Fish become discoloured in the estuary and while 
waiting for a chance to run up stream. They become dis- 
coloured when they have run up stream, and from whence 
they often drop back to the estuary or to the sea itself, 
and both the discoloured fish which have dropped back to 
the estuary water or to the sea, and those which have 
acquired their discoloration only in the estuary water will 
take the first, and very often the same opportunity of 
running up their river as will the fresh run fish coming in 
directly from the sea. 

I am afraid that it really comes to this — that a salmon, 
however little it may be discoloured when taken on a 
coast line, or even at some distance from fresh water, 
cannot clear itself from the suspicion of having previously 
been philandering up some of the adjacent rivers, and of 
having become discoloured in these waters. 

In addition to scale evidence, the ventral organs — the 
porus genitalis — will within a certain period, after the ova 
has been shed, bear evidence as to the shedding, but not as 
to the circumstances connected with the occurrence. 

Scale markings will undoubtedly be more or less defined 
in proportion to the time the fish has been in fresh water, 
and therefore it is not likely that any two salmon would 
exhibit the same amount of decrepitation. 

Decrepitation will, to a very great extent, occur after 
spawning — or the passing of the ova — has actually taken 
place, as the fish certainly do not perish at once, and sub- 
sequently frequently exist for some time in the river, in a 
weak and emaciated condition ; therefore the decrepitation 
of their scales would naturally still be going on. 

This important fact cannot be disproved, but unfor- 
tunately it again weakens the contention of those who 
maintain that there is a distinct spawning mark always 
recognizable on fish which have spawned — and by spawning 



264 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

I mean fish which have spawned under natural and favour- 
able circumstances — for the decrepitation is undoubtedly 
due, in the latter case, not to the act of spawning, but to the 
condition of the fish after spawning, and would be equally 
noticeable on a fish whose ova had been passed under less 
favourable circumstances. 

When discussing the question with Mr. C. Tate Regan, M. A., 
of the British Museum, Cromwell Road,* he pointed out that 
my theories led to an issue which precluded any definite 
knowledge being arrived at from scale records as to whether 
a salmon had ever legitimately spawned, and therefore 
it might be argued that a fish had never spawned. I had to 
acknowledge that this was exactly the point at which 
I had arrived, and that I considered that the scale markings 
only prove that the salmon has left salt water and has 
developed and discharged its ova, and were it not for the 
fact that we see salmon spawning, the scales would do 
nothing more than confirm the opinion that the salmon had 
in some manner vented its spawn ; thus leaving us unable 
— without further proof of this fact — to determine the 
difference between a salmon that has achieved its life's 
purpose, and one which has failed to do so ; and until this 
point is settled, the lately developed school of research on 
scale marking is unfortunately prevented from basing its 
deductions on an exact science. 

A migratory bird, whose eggs or young brood are 
destroyed, may nest and breed again the same year, but if 
the bird has once successfully reared its young, it has not 
been proved to have nested again during the same season. 
Salmon are a much lower order in the ranks of the migratory 
vertebrates, and their life's duties probably cease when they 
have deposited their eggs in the act of spawning. If 
prevented from carrying out this duty, they may be 

* Author of British Fresh Water Fish. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMON ID^ 265 

expected in any after season to again attempt to carry out 
their life's work. If salmon were intended for a recurrent 
act of spawning, I take it that in those rivers easy of access 
such as the Wye, more so-called double and treble spawners 
would be taken. But it will be found that it is on 
the scales of the salmon belonging to the rivers which are 
the most difficult to ascend that the greater number of the 
so-called spawning marks will found to be recurrent. 
(See Mr. Menzie's report on the Add Salmon, see p. 275-276.) 

The Respective Influences of Salt and Fresh 
Water on Salmon 

At no time in its life is the salmon in such good condition 
as during its sojourn in salt water, but this condition begins 
to alter directly it enters the estuary or the waters of the 
river up which it wishes to run, and the longer its stay there 
the greater will be the attendant change in its appearance. 
It neither feeds nor grows, neither retains nor recovers its best 
condition while in fresh water. It is not in every river that 
any number of so-called well mended kelts are to be found. 

If it were possible for salmon to remain in fresh water, 
their scales would possibly lose their resiliency, and, becom- 
ing more pliable, would be absorbed in the epidermis, and 
the colouring of the fish would gradually assume character- 
istic markings such as those which are common to the skin 
of fish like the Ouananiche,* the Huchen, etc. 

The bodies of salmon parr and trout are wanting in cal- 
careous substance, more so perhaps than any other forms 
of the teleostei, and it is not until the salmon reaches the 
sea that Nature provides calcareous matter in sufficient 

* Tliis fish is supposed to be descended from land-locked salmon, but it has 
not yet been proved that a true salmon will continue to breed if prevented 
from visiting salt water. Like the Huchen of Eastern Europe, it is possible 
that these fish are descendants of a hybrid between a salmon and some other 
fish. It has been proved that certain of the hybrids of salmon can live, 
flourish and breed without a visit to salt water. 



266 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

quantities for its full development. In the abundant 
larder at its disposal in the salt water the crustacean 
figures largely, and there can be no doubt that it is from 
such food that its body as well as its skeleton, is increased 
so prodigiously.* 

The Question 

Is it the salmon which has successfully spawned once, 
regained its condition, and developed a fresh batch of ova, 
that is once again able to spawn ? — or is it only the salmon 
that has failed in its attempts to spawn in a natural 
manner, which re-attempts in some following season, with 
a new batch of ova, the difficult and dangerous ascent 
to the spawning ground ? 

At present the signs of irregular decrepitation having 
destroyed a certain number of the concentric markings on 
the former edge of a scale, are considered by some of the 
men to whom we owe most of our present knowledge, to 
indicate that the salmon to which the scale belonged has 
spawned. While fully recognizing the great value of their 
patient investigations in this new study, as I said before, 
I yet venture to think that such data fails to prove more 
than the fact that the salmon has undergone genital changes, 
entered fresh water, and approached a spawning condition, 
but not that it has found a mate, and spawned under 
favourable circumstances. 

The importance of determining this question must be 
evident if scale reading is to form an exact datum on which 

* Calcium salts, i.e., lime salts, form a not inconsiderable portion of the 
scales of a salmon. Miss Esdaile, who has devoted so much time to this 
subject, has been kind enough to criticise some portion of this chapter, and 
still further added to her kindness by writing to the author, on the gth 
February, 1914, as follows : — 

" When the calcium has been removed the scale appears to be 
unchanged in shape and size, its markings are still clearly visible, and 
the unevenness of the surface of the scale is still to be felt." 
This indicates that while scale matter is composed partly of lime salts, 
other materials go to form the base of its structure. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID.E 267 

to base further deductive analysis, not only with regard to 
the distinction of biological types of salmon, but as to the 
life history of any member of any one such type. 

To deposit its eggs, when, and as a result of, being sexually 
excited, can be the only correct meaning of the word 
spawning, but to expel, or discharge its ova under any other 
circumstances cannot be so considered. 

It has been claimed that a salmon in captivity has been 
twice artificially spawned. Even if this be so, it does not 
prove that such a fish would have spawned even once 
naturally. It only proves that ova can be developed and 
shed, and a spawning condition again arrived at, with 
which probability I quite agree.* 

No individual male or female salmon has been seen to 
spawn in a natural manner, has been then captured and 
marked, and found to revisit the spawning beds and again 
spawn, and until such a definite and decisive proof is 

* Since the above was written I have received a very interesting letter 

from Mr. Hutcheon, Manager of the Tugnet Hatchery, in answer to enquiries 

from myself— as follows : — 

" Dear Sir, — The salmon which you refer to was kept in the rearing 
ponds, and was a male fish. He was two feet long and weighed 
four-and-a-half pounds when at his best. He spawned twice to my 
knowledge, and might have done so a third time, as I have seen milt 
running from parr two years old. During the time I had him, he 
began to change his colour about the months of August and September, 
and got very dark red about the months of March and April. He 
again changed his colour and got quite clear, as bright as though he 
had come from the sea. 

" I had another fish — a female — which I kept five years. When 
she was three years old, I took the ova from her in the month of 
January, but as I had not a male fish at the time it was lost. Next 
season I spawned her and impregnated the ova with a male fish of 
forty pounds, laid the ova in the hatchery, and it hatched out all right, 
the only difference being that the ova was white instead of red. 

" During the alevin stage there was no difference from the rest 

alongside them in the rearing ponds. I took them down to the 

hatchery and fed them, when they were turned out into the river." 

The above letter is important, for it proves that a male fish will vent its 

milt when unaccompanied by a hen fish, and that this condition is even 

noticed in the parr before it has visited salt water. 

With regard to the hen fish, this corroborates the other well-known incident 

which occurred I flunk at Plymouth, but in neither case do these instances 

prove that either a male or a hen fish will spawn naturally, and from sexual 

inducement, on more than one occasion. 



268 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

produced, the question — so far as the so-called spawning 
marks are concerned — must remain unsettled. Many 
salmon are captured, whose appearance proves that their 
ova has been matured and then discharged, and a few 
of these marked fish have been subsequently recaptured 
on their way up stream in a spawning condition, but 
the fact that its ova has been discharged does not 
prove by any means that the natural act of spawning 
has taken place. 

Salmon meet with tremendous difficulties in their 
endeavour to reach the spawning grounds to which their 
instincts compel them, and should they fail, as they so often 
do, I think it not improbable that the true spawning of the 
fish may be prevented, that probably discharge or possibly 
absorption of the ova or milt takes place, and that a further 
attempt to spawn will naturally be made by the fish in the 
next or some following season. 

It is stated that salmon have been seen to discharge their 
ova immediately after entering fresh water, but the con- 
ditions and circumstances of their life preceding this act are 
unknown. They may of course be late run fish, which 
have been unable to reach their river until fully ripe, and 
unable any longer to carry their ova ; or they may have been 
in fresh water for many months prior to such an action 
and been compelled to descend to the sea, and have re- 
entered the river when in a condition ripe for spawning, but 
being too late to run up, and unable any longer to hold 
their ova, they have vented it. It may be safely assumed 
that in most of such cases, the discharge of the ova is 
unavoidable, the fish being unable to carry its eggs any 
longer. It may be probable that the attendant actions 
are purely instinctive, and that in many cases the ova will 
be simply discharged without any attempt being made to 
construct a redd or to find a mate, and there can be little 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID^ 269 

doubt but that many such discharges occur in the deeper 
parts of the river beyond the ken of man. 

The Ova of Salmon 

The ova of the salmon is developed in capsules in its 
ovary, and when mature these capsules rupture and drop 
the ova in a more or less adhesive and uniform mass into 
the abdominal cavity (not, of course, into the stomach or 
any part of the alimentary channels) . From there the ova, 
when ripe, passes through two short oviducts and is vented 
by the porus genitalis, situated between the anus and renal 
apertures. Should the ova not be discharged in the natural 
act of spawning, it is probable that after a period of retention 
it will eventually pass away through the oviducts and thence 
by the porus genitalis, and for a time leave recognizable 
evidence of a passage of ova such as that which takes place 
in spawning. 

It is not impossible that " rawners " may be classed as 
being in this latter condition, and that the compact form 
in which their ova has been held is broken up and the ova 
subsequently vented. 

Mr. Hutton and the Spawning Mark 

I think that everyone admits the care and attention which 
Mr. Hutton has given to the question of the examination of 
salmon scales, and that we all owe him thanks for the work 
he has done, but as I go to press, I notice in the latest number 
of the Fishing Gazette, December 27th, 19 13, he says, in a 
letter on page 592 : — 

" The Salmon and Trout Association are pubhshing 
a paper dealing with the question in their December 
Magazine, which I think will prove that no matter 
how late a fish may be in entering a river to propagate 
its species, and no matter how short a time it may 



270 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

remain in fresh water, an indelible ' spawning mark ' 
is certain to be imprinted on its scales."* 

Mr. Hutton claims that the spawning marks are shown on 
the scales of a salmon, no matter how late the fish enters a 
river, or how short a time it may remain in fresh water 
before spawning. If then a salmon ripe for spawning were 
captured in the estuary of a river before it had spawned, 
it would carry markings on its scales, which would prove, 
according to Mr. Hutton, that it had already spawned. 

Evidently some other physiological evidence, or some 
more practical proof, must be adduced before it can be 
accepted that such markings are sufficient to certify that 
such a fish has spawned. 

Again, if, instead of being captured or killed, it was 
wounded in such a manner as not only to prevent its 
spawning, but to force its return to salt water, such a fish, 
if it eventually recovered, would bear these spawning 
marks, and whatever might have been the after-fate of the 
ova it had failed to spawn, it would — impelled by its 
instinct — probably return at a future season to spawn, 
and thereon, if captured, would be considered to be a fish 
spawning for the second time. 

Notwithstanding the attention which has been given to 
this subject, I am inclined to think that this problem is 
one which has not so far been definitely solved. As Mr. 
Malloch says : — 

" Anglers are often in doubt as to whether the fish 
they have caught are clean or not {i.e., have spawned 
or not), and this is not to be wondered at, as those 
who are constantly among them sometimes make 
mistakes when judging from outward appearance 
only." 

* This opinion is, however, opposed to that of Dr. Masterman, who says, 
" that a large number of grilse which enter a river late in the season become 
kelts, but do not become labelled with a definite spawning mark. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONIDiE 271 

The Varying Number of Rings on a Scale 

The consideration of this subject would not be complete 
without a reference to the varying numbers of the annular 
markings which occur on the scales of a salmon during each 
summer and winter sojourn in salt water, and also as to the 
number of bands added to the scale after each series of 
so-called " spawning marks." 

It has been suggested by Mr. Malloch, that the number of 
annular rings added to a salmon scale for each year of its 
life is sixteen. This estimate seems approximately borne 
out by the scales put forward as evidence by Mr. Malloch 
in his excellently illustrated book " The Life History and 
Habits of the Salmon." 

But while any such particular estimate might perhaps be 
true as regards the salmon of any one river, or indeed of any 
one district, yet from the scales I have examined I feel 
assured that such a thing cannot be accepted as having a 
general application. 

This however is certain, that when once decrepitations 
have destroyed the smooth and characteristic edges of the 
scale of a virgin fish, it will be impossible to estimate 
how many of such concentric markings have been destroyed. 
Further, it will be impossible for a correct estimate of the 
exact number of months which a salmon has spent in salt 
water between any two succeeding conditions of spawning 
to be made from scale markings — that is, when once the 
second series of decrepitations have been effected— for it 
will here again be impossible to tell how many or how 
few of the latest added concentric markings have been 
obliterated. 

The number of rings which are seen between the two 
series of so-called "spawning marks" in Plate XXX., does 
not definitely indicate the proportion of time which was spent 
in salt water between the spawning seasons, because we 



272 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

cannot calculate how many of these rings have been 
destroyed during the last decrepitations. 

At A in this plate it appears that only five such rings 
had been added, but at B we can see, if we follow the rings 
round the scale, that at least twelve others must have been 
built on the outside ring of this series of five, and that there- 
fore twelve such rings must have been denuded beyond the 
outer of the five rings at A by decrepitations. In certain 
scales where the decrepitation on the outer rings has been 
excessive and irregular, the new markings which are added 
to the scale as the salmon recovers its condition are no 
longer concentric to the former annular markings, or to the 
nucleus ; they at first appear to fill up the deeper decrepita- 
tion, and then to be continued as annular bands concentric 
to one another, and roughly speaking, to the centre portion 
of the scale. See C, Plate XXX. 

As I have already suggested, the scales are added to only 
in reply to the requirements of nature. 

The varying number of rings which are formed between 
the decrepitation of any one season, and between either a 
recurrent visit on spawning intent, or between a subsequent 
decrepitation, must frequently preclude any definite 
conclusion being formed, other than that Nature will create 
just as many rings and of just so great a width as is necessary 
to cover and protect the uncovered area of the skin as 
condition is regained and additional growth attained. 

Referring again to Plate XXX., the decrepitations on 
this scale at A clearly estabhsh the fact that the salmon had 
reached a spawning condition, and had probably been for 
some time in fresh water. Assuming then that this salmon 
had spawned, or otherwise discharged its ova for the first 
time in January or February of any year, and that it had 
descended to the sea in April or May, had recovered, and had, 
as shown by the decrepitation, again spawned or discharged 



PLATE XXX. 




A 34 LB. Hen Spring Fish, Norway, 'Sl^Y 2ist, 1909. 

At A it shows 5 annular rings added after its first spawning visit, other 
and outer rings liaving possibly been denuded away. 

At B it shows 17 or 18 additional rings added for the same period. 

At C it shows the irregular manner in which the annular additions are 
added to the scales. 

The sixteen ring theory seems to be contradicted by this scale. 

The smooth outside edge of a fresh run fish is well shown. This scale 
also shows the irregular character of denudation, which accompanies and 
follows a spawning visit. 

Photographed and enlarged by Mr. J. Arthur Ilulton. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMON ID^ 273 

its ova during the following spawning season, then only 
a relative proportion of the assumed sixteen fresh annual 
markings could possibly have occurred. But if we count 
the number of rings at B, we shall find no less than sixteen 
have been added, though the salmon cannot possibly have 
been in the sea more than eight months, and therefore the 
theory of sixteen rings is not applicable in this case. The 
salmon cannot have spawned in January, reached the sea 
in April, run up in time to spawn again in the winter, and 
have spent more than eight months in the sea. Yet in- 
adequate as this time may seem. Nature is a very rapid 
architect, and there is no other probable deduction to be 
drawn from this scale if its markings are to be relied on, 
other than that the fish has discharged its ova twice in 
twelve months, some four months of which must have been 
spent in fresh water. 

The irregular manner in which these decrepitations eat 
up or destroy the concentric markings will be noticed in the 
scales shown on Plate XXX. 

The scale shown in Plate XXXL — kindly sent to me 
by Mr. Hutton — is in my opinion most instructive. Mr. 
Hutton has marked on the photo that it is " a hen spring fish 
of thirty-four pounds weight, caught on April 26th, 1909," 
and that "it has spawned once." To me it appears that 
the date of this first spawning condition, or the passing of 
its ova, must have been at least fourteen or fifteen months 
prior to the date of its being killed. The size and number 
of the new concentric markings show that they cannot have 
been added to the scales since the more recent spawning 
season, and their growth has been strictly in proportion to 
the increasing bulk of the fish. 

This scale also shows that the salmon's condition was 
perfect at the time it was captured, for no decrepitation has 
yet taken place in the outer edge of the scale which is smooth 

10 



274 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

and rounded, and also we may assume from this fact that 
probably this fish has but recently entered the river. It 
shows that had this fish not been captured it would have 
spawned or attempted to spawn in the following season, 
i.e., winter of the year in which it was captured. It also 
shows that the bands added to the scale after decrepitation 
has occurred do not invariably show a falling off in size 
during the winter season but that even on the same scale 
their size, as well as their number, varies considerably 
during this period. 

An Examination of a Salmon's Scale, Plate XXXI. 

Taking the scale at A, we find that the bands added since 
the last decrepitations are evenly graduated in size — the 
large bands for the feeding and the smaller ones for the 
fasting period, and also that they are in number approaching 
the sixteen-ring theory. 

Taking the same scale at B, we find the same number of 
rings, but all small and of a similar size. 

Taking the same scale at C, we find about sixteen additional 
rings, but very little evidence of a cessation of feeding. 

Taking the scale at D, we find ten such rings at the most, 
and no evidence of cessation of feeding until we reach the 
extreme edge. 

Taking the scale at E, we find ten rings have been added, 
all of them being about equal in size. 

These variations in the number at least of the added 
scale bands, cannot be due to decrepitation, for the smooth 
outer edge of the scale shows that no denudation has taken 
place. 

Again, if the reader will count the markings between the 
third and fourth year, he will see that, instead of sixteen 
rings, over thirty rings have been added, though between 
them and the time the fish became a kelt there are only 



PLATE XXXI. 



7th VR. 



5th & 6th YR. 




NTBE 



A 34 LB. Wye Salmon — Hen Fish — April 26th, 1900. 

Tliis scale shows how variable in size and number are the annular rings 
added to the scale, after decrepitation has occurred. 

(a) about 16 rings graduated in size. 

(b) about the same number, all small. 

(c) about 18 large and small rings. 

(d) about 9 large rings. 

(e) ten large rings have been added. 

The scale at the period of its tliird year appears to have been decrepitated 
at its anterior edge. Mark the large size of the bands wliich have 

followed. 

Photographed and marked to the right by Mr. J. .\rthur Hutton . 
Magnified about i2i diameters. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMON ID.E 275 

eighteen fresh rings to be counted. As no one, however, 
can possibly tell how many rings were lost during the first 
decrepitation, the exact age of the salmon is indeterminate. 

Mr. Hutton notes on this photo that the decrepitation at 
"kelt " marks the fifth and sixth years of this salmon's life, 
and, appreciating his exhaustive examination of this subject, 
I should be inclined to believe in his estimate, but the scale 
markings cannot be said to prove this. 

The decrepitations have effaced two thirds of all the 
annular rings of the scale beyond the fourth year's markings, 
and if the remaining third portion of these rings had been 
also obliterated, there would have been no indication beyond 
the size and weight of the fish to indicate the fifth and sixth 
year of the salmon's life, and the scale would have appeared 
somewhat as the scale shown in Plate XXVIIIb. 

H this scale is examined it appears to have belonged 
to a fish which has had its scales decrepitated by previous 
spawning conditions in its fourth year, and that it is again 
running up in an attempt to reach the spawning grounds ; 
but from its weight and the appearance of the scales it may 
well be a five-year-old fish, i.e., a fish which has spent three 
years in the sea, whose fifth year's annular markings have 
been entirely lost through decrepitation, just as the others 
have been over two-thirds of their extent on Plate XXXL 

From this scale, and from many others I have examined, it 
appears to me that at any time after the outside edge of the rings 
of a virgin fish have been destroyed, a considerable uncertaint y 
must exist in correctly determiningthe later history of the fish. 

The Scales of Salmon from the River Add 

A paper recently published (1913) by the Fishery Board 
for Scotland, entitled " The Scales of Salmon of the River 
Add," by Mr. W. J. M. Menzies, has been referred to by 
several writers as an " extremely interesting paper." 



276 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

I quite agree with these writers that the paper is extremely 
interesting, but only as showing the remarkable difference 
which exists between data taken from two different salmon 
rivers in Great Britain, and not as proving that salmon 
spawn more than once in their lifetime. 

From the scales of eighty-five kelts taken from the River 
Add in 1912 and 1913, and supplied by Mr. Calderwood to 
Mr. Menzies, the latter gentleman reports that : — 

" Of the 1913 catch no less than 5i'| per cent, were 
on their second or subsequent return." 
As these fish were kelts, this is taken by Mr. Menzies to 
show that these fish had spawned twice. Mr. Menzies 
goes on : — 

" Of the twenty-eight fish of which this can be said 
three of these were in fresh water for the 
purpose of propagating their species for the third time, 
while the scales of two others show three spawning 
marks, and as they were kelts when caught, these 
two fish, weighing 10|^ and U lbs. respectively, 
had spawned four times and still survive, after thus 
aiding in a most material way and to a hitherto 
unsuspected extent the continuance of their race." 
Briefly this report of Mr. Menzies claims that from the 
scales of some fifty-five kelts netted in the river Add during 
the spring months of 1913, and examined by him, 
28 kelts had spawned twice, 
3 ,, ,, ,, three times, 
2 ,, ,, ,, four times. 
Mr. Hutton has, I believe, examined the scales taken from 
some 4,000 Wye salmon, and of these he claims that 
nearly 300 had spawned twice, and 

1 ,, ,, three times ; 

so that while 52J per cent, of the Add kelts had spawned 
twice, according to Mr. Menzies, only 7| per cent, of the 
Wye salmon, according to Mr. Hutton, had already spawned 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID^ 277 

before, and, if they had not been captured, would have 
spawned for the second time. 

But the difference is still more remarkable when we come 
to compare the relative proportion of the fish which are 
said to have spawned three or more times. 

Mr. Menzies finds that out of these fifty-five kelt salmon 
caught in the Add in 1913, five had spawned three times. 

Mr. Hutton, however, can only claim one out of the 4,000 
or more Wye salmon whose scales he has examined, as having 
spawned three times, so that the relative proportion of fish 
said to have spawned three times in the Add and in the 
Wye respectively, are as 1 to 363. 

From this it must be evident that if Mr. Menzies had 
examined the scales of 4,000 kelt fish from the Add, he 
would, if his report can be said to represent the normal 
yearly condition of the spawning fish in the Add, have been 
able to report the discovery of no less than 363 fish who had 
spawned three times at least. 

The Add and the Wye 

This shows the vast difference which exists between the 
salmon in the Add and Wye Rivers. It is of importance 
to remember, that while the scales examined by Mr. Menzies 
were taken from kelts, those used as data by Mr. Hutton 
were taken from both clean and unclean fish. 

The differences between the Rivers Wye and Add are as 
follows : — The Wye is one of the longest rivers in Great 
Britain, and it is one of the easiest for a salmon to ascend 
in order to reach its spawning beds, whereas the Add is one 
of the shortest rivers in Great Britain, and, with the excep- 
tion of the lower water, in which I believe salmon do not 
spawn, it is one of the most difficult rivers to ascend. Again, 
the Wye is a river up which salmon may run every month 
in the year, whereas the Add is one in which the run of 



278 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

fish does not begin until July, the rod fishing coming to an 
end at the end of October. 

Mr. Gathorne-Hardy 

Referring to the Hon. A. E. Gathorne-Hardy's charming 
and interesting contribution, " The Salmon," to the very 
excellent series, " Fur, Feather, and Fin " (Longmans 
& Co.), this gentleman says with reference to the River 
Add :— 

" The little river that I know best, having fished it 
regularly for the best part of a quarter of a century, 
is the Add, which rises in the hills near Loch Fyne, 
and, after a short but rapid course through gorges 
and over rocks, descends into the plain, and for the last 
few miles of its career meanders slowly through the 
partially reclaimed peat moss which fills the valley 
opposite Crinan Bay, into which it ultimately 
discharges its waters close to the western outlet of 
the Crinan Canal. The lower part of the river winds 
round and round through the soft soil, the curves 
being so sharp that a straight line of about a quarter 
of a mile in length would cross the river three times. 
The stream has cut itself a deep channel through the 
peat, and the banks are high above the water, protect- 
ing it from the wind, which, as the current is naturally 
sluggish, is very necessary for successful fishing, 
except immediately after a heavy flood. The river, 
like all small West Highland streams, rises and falls 
with extreme rapidity, and the upper part of the water 
is only really in order for one day after a flood, and the 
lower for two — the first day being usually the best." 
From Mr. Gathorne-Hardy's description, it will be seen 
that this river may be divided into two portions, the lower 
part being sluggish and therefore unsuitable for spawning 
beds, and the upper part offering extreme difficulties to 
ascending salmon. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID^ 279 

No information is given in Mr. Menzies' report as to the 
part of the river in which the fifty-five salmon were caught 
in 1913, but we may assume they were taken at the mouth 
of the river. There is absolutely no evidence that a single 
one of these fish had ever spawned in a natural manner, 
that is during sexual excitement, and there is not even any 
evidence that any one of them had ascended the more rapid 
portion of the river to their spawning beds, and though we 
know that every season some salmon must be successful in 
ascending and spawning, there is no evidence to prove that 
any of them were among those whose scales were examined 
by Mr. Menzies, i.e., that any of those which were successful 
survived the act of spawning. 

In answer to a question of mine, Mr. Gathorne-Hardy 
has been kind enough to supplement the extract just given 
as follows : — 

" But I know that the fish run up to the rapids at 
the top, and to the tributary, to spawn, and that 
they ascend during a spate. They do not spawn in 
the sluggish part," 

Such a report, however, as that made by Mr. Menzies, 
tends to confirm the supposition that salmon repeat the 
operation of spawning, and is used for this purpose by those 
who believe that salmon spawn two or three times. 

There has not been, so far as I can gather up to the 
present, any definite and conclusive proof that salmon do 
spawn more than once, and until such evidence is produced, 
I consider it safer to believe that the repetition of these 
so-called " spawning marks " found more or less on the scales 
of salmon will depend to a considerable extent on the 
characteristics of the rivers themselves, and that where the 
river partakes of the nature of the Add the spawning 
marks will be found to be frequently recurrent. My reasons 
for thinking this are as follows ; — 



280 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

In the case of the Add there will be a far greater per- 
centage of fish which will find it impossible to ascend to the 
spawning grounds — than on the Wye for instance — and 
they will hang about in the sluggish parts of the river, 
discolouration and decrepitation going on during this stay, 
and finally, if unable to ascend the river to spawn, will 
discharge their ova and return to the sea ; some of them, 
such as those from which the scales were taken in Mr. 
Menzies' report, being captured in the nets, presumably at 
the mouth of the river. These fish, with their instincts to 
spawn unsatisfied, will in the following season again seek 
this river, and so on until they have spawned satisfactorily, 
adding with each visit the decrepitation marks which are 
now considered to represent the act of spawning. 

The River Awe 

In another report : — " Fishery Board for Scotland, 
Salmon Fisheries, 1911, No. 1," Mr. W. J. M. Menzies, after 
examining the scales of 258 summer fish sent to him by 
Mr. Calderwood, gives the following table : — 



Spey 
Forth 


District. 


No. 

examined. 

106 

97 


No. with 

one spawning 

mark. 

6 

8 


Percent- 
age. 

5.6 
8 


Awe 


, , 


45 


13 


9 


Kyle of Sutherland 


6 








Solway 


. . 


4 









258 27 10.46 

None have more than one spawning mark, 
and goes on : — 

" Whilst the figures of the Spey and Forth confirm 
the results hitherto obtained in these and certain 
other rivers in Scotland, those of the Awe show a 
very much greater percentage of fish that have 
previously spawned." 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMON ID^ 281 

The remarkable number of fish with a previous so-called 
" spawning mark " coming from the Awe, led me to believe 
that similar characteristics to those of the river Add would 
be found to exist in the river Awe, but not knowing the latter 
I wrote to Mr. H. T. Sheringham, the Editor of the Field, 
as to its nature. He was kind enough in reply to inform 
me that the Awe is one of the roughest rivers in Scotland. 
This information, as I anticipated, lends additional weight 
to my arguments ; for it shows that in those rivers which 
salmon have great difficulty in ascending, such as the Add 
and the Awe, a very much larger proportion of the salmon 
will be found with the marks which are believed by a great 
many people to denote a previous act of spawning. 

Now it must be evident that if a recurrent act of spawning 
does take place, it would occur most often in those rivers, 
the ascent of which is most easy, whereas it will be seen by 
these figures that exactly the opposite condition of affairs 
takes place. 

On the same report is appended a note from Mr. Calder- 
wood, who has examined the scales of twenty-five spring 
salmon, i.e., from the Awe, of which four had spawned 
previously, three of these being fresh run fish, and the others 
kelts, the percentage of the total of these twenty-five fish 
which carried a spawning mark thus being about twenty-five 
per cent., while the percentage of the kelts carrying a 
spawning mark is about 4.5. 

Synopsis 

From the foregoing matter it will be recognized that I 
by no means infer that Nature does not reproduce ova in a 
female and milt in a male salmon, but I see no evidence which 
proves that the instincts of a salmon prompt it to spawn 
again after having once spawned under favourable circum- 
stances and in a natural manner. 



282 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

It will not be amiss to recapitulate some of the evidence 
on which these opinions are based, viz. : — 

Salmon reared in tanks and artificially spawned do not 
show the so-called " spawning marks." 

Milt maybe noticed running from two years old male parr. 

Fish are caught in the nets during March, April, and May, 
which are known as " half spent " fish. They are dis- 
coloured, and their scales show the so-called " spawning 
marks." The general explanation given for this condition 
of these fish is that the spawning operations have been 
interfered with by frost, ice, etc., etc. While such an 
interference might occur especially in the upper and more 
shallow portions of a river, innumerable other spawning 
grounds would be encountered by the mating fish during 
their down stream progress, and there would be many 
opportunities for a resumption of the spawning efforts by 
a pair of salmon after being thus disturbed, before they 
reach the nets. It is much more natural to suppose that the 
majority, if not all, of these half-spent fish are ones, which, 
not being able to reach the spawning beds, or to find a mate, 
have begun to discharge the ova with which they were cum- 
bered, and that this process was still going on when they were 
taken in the nets; that these fish would all be found with 
the so-called "spawning marks," and on a return visit would 
therefore be treated as fish which had previously spawned. 

Many spent fish, when migrating from river to sea, are 
quite clear {i.e., not discoloured), and only to be distinguished 
from clean fish by their lanky appearance. These fish are 
probably salmon late run, which have discharged their ova 
shortly after leaving the sea, and been captured before a 
discoloured condition has occurred. 

Dr. Masterman states that a large number of grilse which 
enter the river late in the season become kelts, but do not 
become labelled with a definite spawning mark. 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMON ID^E 283 

Spawned fish without discoloration are caught in the 
nets, as they descend to the sea, up to May. Unspawned, 
but discoloured and emaciated fish, with ova not fully 
developed, are caught with the kelts, which are descending 
in the spring. These fish also exhibit decrepitation marks 
on their scales. 

Salmon die in very great quantities, and it is doubtful 
if one salmon in every fifty, which dies after spawning, is 
recorded or even seen, as they are carried downstream to 
the sea on the winter and spring floods. 

Injured and unspawned fish with the scale marks and 
having all the appearance of a stay in fresh water, are 
captured both in the fixed and drag nets, but it can be 
assumed that these fish are on their way to effect recovery 
in the sea. Many persons question the belief that salmon 
when injured return to the sea. 

Mr. Calderwood, kindly answering some questions by the 
author, says in a letter, 22nd December, 1913 : — 

" A female salmon which has not found a mate, 
even a trout, and has not therefore shed her eggs, 
remains in fresh water for a considerable time." 
And Mr. Calderwood further considers it likely that many of 
the ova will be shed, and that the remainder will be absorbed, 
but, as he says, " this is a supposition." The supposition 
is in this case of course the absorption of the ova. It is 
quite natural to infer that many fish return to the sea as 
spent fish, without having spawned in a natural and 
satisfactory manner. 

Professor Sidney J. Hickson, of Manchester University, can 
see no reason " why the two oviducts should not pass the separ- 
ated ova after disintegration as well as in the natural way," 
that is to say, shed the ova if spawning does not occur. 

Many netters report the capture of half spent and 
discoloured fish in their nets during April and May, and 



284 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

therefore I consider a large number of salmon find their 
way to the sea carrying the so-called " spawning marks " 
on their scales, but which have not yet spawned, and who 
will, if they survive, imbued with the strongest of all their 
instincts — that of the reproduction of their species — 
probably revisit their river in the following season. 

So-called " well-mended kelts " are found in a river after 
the spawning season, yet we have no positive evidence as 
to what these fish are, or what has really happened to them. 
If they are late run fish which have spawned, or otherwise 
passed their ova, their clean appearance will not cf necessity 
be due to recovery, but will most probably be due to the 
fact that little decrepitation and little outward alteration 
has taken place in the scales or to the fish through the 
physiological changes of spawning during the short time they 
have been in fresh water. Owing to the colder and healthier 
conditions of river water in the winter months, a late run 
fish would possibly show less signs of deterioration of 
condition for each month of its stay in fresh water than a 
salmon which had entered the river as a summer fish and 
encountered the more relaxing and less healthy condition 
of the river during the summer months. 

Many observers agree that it is difficult at times to 
decide whether a fish has been in fresh water before or not. 
The majority of the scales, however, which are produced as 
evidence that a salmon has already spawned on more than 
one occasion, show a very considerable deterioration, both 
on the lateral and on the posterior sides of the scales. 

But in " The Life History and Habits of the Salmon," 
Mr. Malloch says : 

" Many of the latter (late run fish) are so short a 
time in fresh water before spawning and returning 
to the sea, that very little damage occurs to the 
scales. When they appear in the river again it is, 



THE SCALES OF THE SALMONID^ 285 

therefore, sometimes difficult to tell whether they 
have been in fresh water before or not." 
We cannot be far wrong in assuming, therefore, that a 
fish, whether it has spawned naturally or not, having once 
discharged its ova, will — if it be destined to recover — drop 
down to the renovating influences of salt water, and will in 
most cases carry some convicting evidence in the nature of 
scale marks denoting a past spawning condition.* 

From these data and from my own observation, I consider : 

1. That unless circumstances are favourable, and some 
fish of the male sex adjacent, the female fish will not spawn 
in a natural manner. 

2. That a hen fish has the power and the organs for 
venting its ova should it not spawn properly. 

3. That should it survive this abortive ejection of its 
ova, it will probably revisit its river on spawning intent. 

4. That though there may be indelible signs on the scales, 
and, for a time, in the condition of the porus genitalis, which 
respectively indicate, first — that a spawning condition has 
approached, and secondly, that the passing of the ova 
through the genital passage has occurred, these signs do not 
necessarily imply that the ova has been deliberately deposited 
during sexual excitement. 

5. A male salmon will eject its milt even before attaining 
the smolt stage, and without the presence of a hen fish. 

* The first impulse of a wounded salmon — presumably impelled by instinct — 
is to descend to salt water to recover from its injuries. 

Why, then, if a salmon spawns on more than one occasion, is not the kelt 
imbued with the same instinct and similarly impelled to descend at once to 
the sea in order to recover its condition and again continue its functions as a 
producer of its own species? It can hardly be that it hangs about in fresh 
water because it recalls the dangers which it has encountered in its passage 
from the sea, and fears in its weakened condition to face them again, because 
any danger must appear greater the more confined the waters of the river, 
in which it lingers for some unexplained reason. The answer to this question 
must be, that apparently no instinct or desire impels it to seek to recover its 
condition in order to spawn again, when once those spawning operations 
have been successfully accomplished. 



286 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

6. The sex characteristics are interestingly illustrated 
in the life of the salmon. The male fish appears to enjoy a 
very lively time, partly occupied by a mixture of love and 
fighting, and to be somewhat indifferent to the more serious 
duty of life. The female fish, however, intuitively endowed 
with those instincts which lead to the preservation of species, 
remains unsatisfied until this duty is accomplished, i.e. 
until it has been able to spawn under the happiest natural 
conditions, and after having secured as far as possible 
the future safety of its ova. The male fish even if he fails 
in his initial attempt, rarely, if ever, re-attempts the 
arduous run up a river to the spawning beds, but the female, 
impelled by a higher instinct, will return again and again 
until it has satisfactorily achieved its life's purpose. 

7. That so long as the markings or decrepitations on the 
scales are uncorroborated by evidence of natural spawning, 
it cannot be logically adduced that a salmon spawns, i.e., 
spawns in a natural way, more than once in its lifetime. 

8. From these and from the other facts and deductions 
which I have advanced in this chapter, I think it will be 
recognized that salmon have not so far been proved to 
spawn on more than one occasion. 

I have only to add that in order to corroborate the 
conclusions I had formed — as expressed above — I thought 
it advisable to write to many of the most experienced of those 
in control of the salmon netting operations at the mouths of 
our big rivers, and in nearly every case I have to acknowledge 
their great courtesy and kindness in answering fully the 
somewhat lengthy series of questions which I propounded. 



CHAPTER XV 
MATTERS CONNECTED WITH FISHING FOR SALMON 

Non-rising fish — Stoning a pool — Entering fresh pools — ^The Wye cast 
and how to fish it — A sagging line — Sinking the fly — Harling — 
Presenting the lure to the salmon — ^The rise of the salmon — Gaffing 
— Renting a fishing water. 

It may occur to the reader that if salmon, while in fresh 
water, be actuated by an instinctive impulse to destroy all 
the possible enemies to their future young, they but too 
frequently display a considerable disinclination to respond 
to this call, and the lures with which he endeavours to 
awaken them to this duty, and incidentally to effect their 
capture, are, as a consequence, disregarded. 

There are, however, several circumstances which may 
explain this apparent lapse of duty on the part of the 
salmon. In the first place, it is certain that salmon are not 
exempt from the natural laws which affect all living creatures. 
They require rest, and for this reason alone it is little wonder 
that they may at times neglect the instincts of hunger or 
destruction — whichever they may be — though perfectly 
conscious of the presence of the moving life around them. 

In the second place, it can hardly be supposed that they 
are lacking in the wisdom which teaches the majority of 
created beings to avoid objects which have occasioned them 
pain, and which threaten danger. 

In the third place, those inhabitants of our rivers and 
seas comprised in the families which are attacked by 
salmon, although progressing in a variety of different ways, 
are yet affected by the natural phenomena of the currents 

287 



288 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

which they have to encounter, and it is assumable that 
salmon will naturally avoid meddling with moving objects 
which do not conform to certain laws of progression through 
the element in which they travel. 

Salmon may be roused from their inactivity at times by 
disturbing the pools in which they lie. Flies and lures can 
be altered to colours and varieties which may not recall to 
the salmon previous unpleasant experiences, and a variety 
of different casts may be made, which may cause the lures 
presented by the fisherman to the salmon to assume a more 
lifelike appearance and progress through the water. It 
cannot, therefore, be too strongly urged upon him who 
would be successful that a constant change in the methods of 
fishing any pool may be advisable, and a frequent change of 
flies desirable when the salmon are not taking well. While 
dealing with this aspect of salmon fishing it is by no means 
a bad plan for the fisherman to fish up and across stream 
if no success can be obtained by the ordinary method, in 
which case the line must be drawn through the water by 
reeling in, lifting the rod, or moving the point down-stream. 
I would go still further, and advise the fisherman to make 
occasional casts as with a dry fly. I have hooked salmon 
on the Test with a May-fly, and my experience is by no 
means uncommon. Salmon frequently take the March 
Brown when fished wet, and I believe they would do so 
were a fly similar in make and size to a May-fly fished on a 
fine single gut cast : the colours of the dressing of such 
flies might vary. 

Stoning a Pool 

Salmon, like all other fish, mistrust a moving object 
outside the water, but seem to exhibit a curiosity when 
smaller objects, such as spinning-bait, stones, moving 
leaves, flies, etc., enter their pool. Stoning a pool frequently 



FISHING FOR SALMON 289 

results in the salmon, as fishermen say, " coming on the 
feed," so long as no one on the bank is visible to them. 

The salmon see the air bubbles made by the bait or the 
stones, feel the vibration of the water, or perchance hear 
in their own way the noise of the stone falling on the pebbles 
under water, and, although they may have appeared dull 
and listless at the time, they frequently become alert and 
excited, and at once attack the first moving object they 
see — apparently imbued with an instinctive desire to destroy 
the possible enemies of their future young — and to which 
they may reasonably impute the disturbance in the water. 
To watch salmon in a pool is an easy matter if the right spot 
is selected, and if the spectator approach with the greatest 
caution and remain apparently immovable and as much 
concealed as is possible. 

A fisherman when wading does not appear to frighten 
fish so greatly as when he is standing on the bank. Salmon 
have followed my spinning lure, and taken it, close to my 
rod point, when I have been wading. For this reason, 
therefore, when playing a salmon from the bank, it is 
advisable to keep as low down as possible. 

When Entering Fresh Pools 

It has been repeatedly noticed that when salmon are 
running up a river they display considerable activity for 
two or three days after reaching any fresh pool. This 
cannot be due to an appetite forgotten during the final days 
of their stay in the lower pool, and resuscitated in response 
to the exertion of reaching the new water, because the run 
between these pools has on several occasions been par- 
ticularly noticed, and it has not been of such a character 
as to exhaust the fish, and create a temporary demand for 
food. As a more likely explanation, it may be assumed 
that their instinctive desire to destroy the possible enemies 

20 



290 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

of their young may be brought into renewed activity by 
their new surroundings, and when they find that they have 
demolished the river life in the new pool they will be 
naturally suspicious as to any fresh moving objects which 
they see, especially if there has been no alteration in the 
water, such as a spate, etc. Salmon which have apparently 
ceased to take will, after a spate occurs and when the 
water is going down, commence to " feed." This, again, 
can hardly be due to the reaction attendant upon exhaustion, 
for the salmon have left the more rapid portions of the 
stream during the spate, and will have been resting in the 
less troubled back-waters of the river. It will most pro- 
bably be due to the fact that they become aware of the fresh 
forms of life brought down by the spate, which they feel 
impelled to destroy, and consequently a spate may for 
this reason occasion their renewed activity. 

The Wye Cast A General Suggestion as to how 
TO Fish out a Cast 

One cannot describe any particular method of fishing out 
a salmon pool which could, under every circumstance, 
meet with unqualified approval. The attendant and ever- 
varying factors associated with each day, wath each river 
and each pool, must affect the method of casting and 
fishing, and this problem should therefore be considered by 
the waterside, and such a method of " fishing the fly " 
adopted as to bring your lure most naturally to the notice 
of a salmon, whose exact position, it must be remembered, 
is most often uncertain. No one method will suit every 
condition of the river, or will prove the most effective style 
of killing fish. Your judgment must tell you how and 
when to cast, when to fish near the surface, or when to let 
your line sink deeply in the water, whether to work your 
fly little or much, or whether to keep it perfectly still as it 



FISHING FOR SALMON 291 

slips through the water — your rod merely following the line 
down stream and round toward your own bank. 

The following general method of fishing out a c;ist will 
I think meet with approval. 

It must be remembered that, except in clear and shallow 
water, especially toward the end of a season when the fish are 
naturally shy, the rod point should be kept well down as the 
cast is fished out, as shown in Plate XXXVIII. The lower 
the rod is held the deeper the lure will sink and the less it will 
be seen, and therefore the greater will be the chance of your 
getting a fish. In fine clear weather, in summer time, and 
in shallow water, fishing the fly toward the surface can be 
adopted with perhaps greater chance of success, and even 
— as mentioned elsewhere — dry fly tactics may be resorted to. 

The angle at which the fly must be cast, and at which the 
line should fall on the water — as regards the stream — should 
vary at nearly every cast, and though the variation between 
each cast may be a small one, yet it is certain that a judicious 
consideration of the exact spot at which your fly should fall 
will tend not only to successful fishing, but it will add en- 
joyment and interest to each cast. It is the assured feeling 
that salmon must be in the pool you are fishing which leads 
up to the interesting consideration of just how and where 
they are lying, so as to bring the fly — not the line — most 
surely and quickly to their notice. 

In approaching any salmon pool it is well to remember 
that salmon are gifted with sight, and to beheve that they are 
as keenly alert and equally as shy as trout ; also that any 
part of a run entering a salmon pool may carry a fish. 

We will assume that there are no trees or other dangers 
behind you, and so you will fish this supposititious pool 
by using the Wye cast. The fly you believe in has been 
examined and is attached to your well soaked cast, and you 
have now to fish most carefully every yard of the run 



292 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

below you, keeping as much out of sight as possible. You 
first lower the point of your rod down stream, paying out 
just enough line to fish the nearest upper portion of the run. 
When the line is fully extended, you face across stream to 
the spot at which you wish your fly to alight, keeping 
your rod pointing down stream while doing so. You 
then raise your rod steadily until the line is well to the 
surface of the water, and bring the rod steadily round until 
it is between your eye and the place at which the fly has to 
fall ; then without stopping, convert this movement of the 
rod into the backward switch (see Plate XXXII.), pausing 
as usual to allow the line to extend itself behind you before 
making your forward downward switch. You then make 
your forward cast, lowering the rod into the normal fishing 
position. Follow the line with the rod — keeping the top 
pointing slightly up-stream — as the line and fly are carried 
down stream and brought into a straight line below 
you. 

While your rod has been following the fly as it is swept 
down stream, you should be giving a series of steady up 
and down movements to the rod point, at intervals of about 
two seconds, which will have the effect of giving a slight 
jigging motion to the fly. 

If a salmon has not acknowledged your fly, you can, 
after a short pause, during which you should continue to 
work the fly as it lies below you, repeat this cast, but this 
time vary the movement of working your fly, or do not work 
it, but let your rod sweep slowly round, keeping the top 
pointing as before at least twenty degrees above, viz., to 
the up-stream side of the fly. 

You should now let out about a yard of your line and 
repeat your cast as before, taking care to cast as light and 
straight a line as possible, and fishing very carefully as 
your fly leaves the more rapid and enters the deeper part of 



PLATE XXXII. 











Ihk Wye Cast. 



THE BACKWARD SWITCH OF THE SALMON ROD. THE BODY HAS TURNED TO THE 
PLANE IN WHICH THE LINE WILL FALL IN THE FORWARD CAST. 



PLATE XXXIII. 




The Wye Cast Converted into a Galway Cast when 
Danger has to be Avoided Behind the Fisherman. 



FISHING FOR SALMON 293 

the water, for it is here that you will most probably find 
your fish. As your line gradually becomes longer, you can, 
just before lifting the rod, in each new cast, gather in 
about two yards of line, shooting the same at the end of 
each downward switch. 

When you have covered the entire width of the water, 
you must move down stream, about one yard, and make 
one or more casts as before from this position ; and thus 
moving down the stream, and using just as long a line as 
may be necessary, cast steadily until you have fished 
out the pool. Do not attempt to use a longer line than you 
can comfortably hft from the water, and always lower the 
rod well to the water prior to making each cast. 

You will thus have carefully searched every yard of 
fishable water. Avoid as much as possible fishing with 
a sagging line and vary your method of working the fly 
to suit the strength of the stream. 

Always remain stationary while fishing out your cast ; 
do not move down stream until you are certain that 
no fish has followed your fly round to your own bank. 
If you move down stream prematurely you will probably 
frighten your fish by showing him the line, or create a 
sag in the line, and even if a fish should take the fly 
you would possibly be unaware of the fact owing to the 
slack line. 

Treat a salmon with as much circumspection and respect 
as you would a trout. They are both wild and very shy, 
and neither will take your lures simply because you can 
cast well or happen to be wearing an attractive homespun 
fishing suit. 

To the novice the above description will give a fairly 
general idea of how to fish any ordinary salmon pool, while 
every incident connected with each day's sport will 
probably tend to improve and better his method of fishing. 



294 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Salmon Fishing : A Sagging Line 

When fishing from the bank it requires careful study 
and a good deal of skill on the part of the fisherman to 
prevent the sagging of the line due to the varying currents 
in the river across which it is cast. If the line has fallen 
straight in the desired direction, and there should be a 
tendency of the line to sag down-stream after the for ard 
cast, the fish, when in a certain position, may possibly 
detect the casting line before he sees the lure. Again, if the 
fly be seized by the fish while a sag is in the line, the fly will 
possibly be ejected from the mouth of the fish without the 
fisherman being conscious of the fact. The line, if sagging, 
has not the power of a straight drag on the hook into the 
jaws, tongue, etc., of the fish. A short up-stream motion 
of the point of the rod, before the fly falls on the water, 
will cause an attendant up-stream curve of the line, and 
if the rod is kept pointing well above the direction of the 
fly until it has swept down into the full force of the 
current, much wUl have been done to avoid the objectionable 
sag and its consequences. 

When the river is fast on one side alone, and if it 
be covered with one cast, it is well to fish from that side of the 
river which possesses the most moderate current, the fly 
being cast across the slacker water to the side on which the 
more rapid stream exists. 

When a river is fast in the centre and slow towards 
the sides, the more directly the line is thrown across the 
current and into the slacker water on the other side, the 
greater the sag. Wading permits the fisherman in most 
cases to choose his own position for casting ; he can, in 
consequence, generally avoid the danger of his line sagging, 
or having to make his casts from a position which might 
endanger the safety of his gear. 



FISHING FOR SALMON 295 

If a river is not wadable, and has a broad rapid current 
in the centre, the fisherman should content himself with 
fishing the faster water and his side of the stream, casting 
the fly well over but within the rapid portion of the river, 
and allowing it to come round into slacker water towards 
his own bank. 

Sinking a Fly 

Placing a shot on the line near the fly in order to sink it, 
does not appear to me to be an unfair method of fishing ; 
the object being, of course, merely to bring the fly to the 
notice of the fish. If the fish be lying well down to the 
bottom, and the water be thick, a fly coming down the 
stream near the surface would easily escape its notice. 
This practice of leading a fly is frequently condemned as 
being opposed to legitimate fly fishing ; it suggests a relation- 
ship to the method of snatching fish. The object, however, 
of the salmon or trout fisherman is to capture fish by lures 
which are meant to represent some form of water insect 
life, and the various flies which are thus used are meant to 
be presented to the fish. If the fisherman, therefore, 
chooses the only method of doing this — that is of presenting 
his flies- — by placing shot on his cast, I sympathize with his 
effort, and not with these objectors, who are perhaps 
adopting an attitude having a greater relationship to their 
own ethics and ideas as to legitimate fishing, than to the 
absolute merits of the case. Personally, I dislike throwing 
a line to which shot are attached, but if the fisherman cannot 
otherwise attract the notice of the fish he is anxious to 
capture, he has my s^-mpathy if he uses shot. 

Harling 

This method of presenting the lure to salmon can best 
be adopted in large and rapid rivers which are otherwise 



296 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

unfishable. Hailing is perhaps the most killing, but by no 
means the most interesting, method of presenting a spoon, a 
fly, or minnow to the notice of the salmon, the skill in 
presenting the lure depending on the manipulation of the 
boat by its two oarsmen. The fisherman sits in the stern 
of the boat, with his back to the bows. He has generally 
two rods, one over each quarter of the boat, and with 
about thirty yards of line out on each. The rods are fixed 
at right angles to each other, and kept in this position by 
shoes in the bottom of the boat for the butts, and cleats on 
the gunwale of each quarter for the lower joint of each rod 
to rest in. 

A spoon or minnow is generally used as a lure on one 
rod and a fly as lure on the other. The lines are allowed 
to drift down-stream behind the boat, which, start- 
ing at the head of each pool, with the boatmen pulling 
slowly against the stream, is permitted to drop very 
gradually down the river. By the experience and judgment 
used in keeping the boat at the most judicious speed through 
the water, and moving in sweeping curves from bank to 
bank of the river, the lures tailing down-stream behind the 
the boat are presented to the salmon in the best possible 
manner. 

The music of the reel and the pull on the rod at once 
inform the fisherman that he has a fish " on," and he, 
seizing with one hand the rod to which the salmon is 
attached, passes the other rod into the ready grasp of the 
after-boatman, who, having already thrown his oar aboard, 
is waiting to receive it. The fisherman then proceeds to play 
his fish, and while the after-boatman reels up the line on the 
spare rod, the other keeps the boat going. As soon as an 
opportunity offers the fisherman lands and plays his fish 
from the bank. The 50-pound salmon mentioned on 
P- 355 was killed in this manner. 



FISHING FOR SALMON 297 

Presenting the Spinning Lure to the Salmon 

In fishing any pool, the speed at which the lure has to be 
drawn through the water is a matter of considerable 
importance. The line should be so cast that the lure 
commences to spin directly it enters the water, and a constant 
rate of speed should, if possible, be given to it — not too 
fast and not too slow. If you intend to vary the speed of 
each cast, it is better to impart the greater spin in the first 
casts, and gradually reduce this speed. 

Don't attempt to cover too much water when casting — 
cover all that part of the river which you think is worth 
fishing, but without pressing. The best results can be 
obtained only when keeping the muscular action under per- 
fect control. Never expend your last half -ounce of force 
in any athletic effort ; always keep something up your 
sleeve — in other words, don't press. 

The variation of the speed of the lure when fishing a 
pool is effected in two ways. The first and better way is 
to slack out or reel in the line by hand. The second is 
by moving the rod point. As, however, there must always 
be one best position for the rod when controlling the speed 
of the lure — preventing sagging — and while expecting a rise, 
any movement of the rod away from this position must of 
necessity be inadvisable if the speed of the lure can be other- 
wise controlled. 

In spinning I have found it a good plan at times, and when 
the depth of the water permits, to vary the pace of the lure 
through the water by a series of half checks given to the rod 
action. This imparts first a sinking motion and then an 
accelerated one, the lure moving in a series of little spurts. 

The Rise of the Salmon 
Probably the most anxious moments of the salmon 
fisherman's experience are those which chronicle the rise 



298 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

of the salmon at his fly, and it is well for the beginner to be 
in all senses ready for this event. The top of the rod should 
be kept well down and pointed in a direction about 
twenty degrees on the up-stream side of the lure, the line 
passing between one or more fingers of the upper hand and 
the rod. It is not advisable, as in dry fly fishing, to strike 
in order to hook your fish. Except when the fly is stationary 
or being drawn down-stream, the salmon should be allowed 
to fix the barb in its own mouth — i.e., to hook himself — 
before a counter-strain is employed. Following the rise, 
except in the two cases just quoted, the fisherman should 
merely brace himself for action and keep perfectly still. 
If a quick stroke is made as the rise is perceived, the fly 
may be pulled or jerked out of the mouth of the fish, before 
the hook is in a position to enter the flesh. The salmon 
will, on closing his jaws, if time be given, shift the fly with 
the tongue toward the teeth preparatory to lacerating it. 
If the barb of the hook during this action happens to meet 
the skin either of the tongue or jaws of the fish, and the line 
be straight, the salmon will in most cases be hooked. There 
will always be sufficient pull on the hook itself, owing to the 
plunge of the fish or the drag of the line, to ensure the barb 
penetrating directly its point is checked by the skin. The 
drag and resistance of the rod and line will be sufficient 
to drive it well home. If, therefore, the rod is kept station- 
ary the strain on the fly will be quite sufficient to hook the 
fish, and should the barb never be in a position to enter the flesh 
the fly will be rejected by the salmon naturally, instead of 
being jerked out of the mouth by a movement of the rod 
which would effectually scare the fish, and maybe prevent 
its taking any other flies presented to it later on. 

So long as an object be moving, the salmon will invariably 
attack it with a rush ; but should the object be stationary 
in the water — i.e., floating with the current — the salmon will 



FISHING FOR SALMON 299 

at times take it as gently as a big trout would take a drifting 
worm as it enters his favourite and shady pool. In this 
latter case, directly the first intimation is conveyed to the 
fisherman that the fly has been touched, an immediate and 
steady resistance to any such pull should be made. 

When the fish is hooked, the rod should be held well 
away from the direction of the salmon, and the strain on the 
line should never be relaxed under any circumstances. 
This is necessary not only because the fish may be lightly 
hooked, or hooked on the bone, but in order to exhaust and 
finally to bring it into the most convenient back-water 
or quiet pool. Keep as much strain on your line as is safe, 
but try not to frighten the salmon at the onset into dangerous 
water by being rough. If a fish sulks get opposite to or 
below it and try a fresh strain on the rod. 

Gaffing 

If you have no one to gaff your salmon for you, keep at your 
fish until you have him beaten and into slack water. Bring 
your rod up over-head and backward with one hand, 
the line held for the moment between this hand and the rod, 
and as your fish presents his broadside slip the gaff quietly 
over its back, point sideways, just before the dorsal fin, 
turn the point right down, and with one strong and deter- 
mined pull bring the point into its side, and drag the fish to 
the shore. 

Never, never under any circumstances attempt to take 
your lure from the mouth of the salmon until it has received 
a most complete quietus — i.e., until the salmon is incapable 
of motion. After you have administered the last rites with 
the priest place your rod carefully in some safe position, and, 
using the lancet in the disgorger of your knife, liberate each 
hook from the flesh. Keep the mouth of the fish open with 
the butt of your priest while doing this ; then weigh your 



300 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

fish, and put the exact weight, length and girth, time of day, 
name of lure, the appearance of the fish, and the name of the 
pool down in your pocket-book. You will remember the 
rest if necessary when you get home. 

Renting a Fishing Water 

No investment is so unfortunate, or so extremely mortify- 
ing, both to the lessee and to his guests, as the renting of an 
indifferent salmon fishing. 

Before renting a fishing write to the last two preceding 
tenants. 

Always consult your solicitor before signing an 
agreement. 

Remember that even the most unpleasant and disappoint- 
ing river may at times and in certain places produce good 
returns. Some rivers will, following a spate, yield plenty 
of fish, but it is worth remembering that you can seldom 
command a spate. 

Fishing agents may be expected to quote the best year's 
returns and not the worst. No rivers are always good. 

There are bad months for even the best of fishings. 

It is advisable, before concluding an agreement for renting 
a salmon fishing or trout water, to find out first whether 
the fishing about to be taken includes the right to fish beyond 
the middle of the stream. In many salmon and in some 
trout rivers which are offered for yearly rental, the better 
part of its various pools, as often as not, lie under the farther 
bank, and if the fishing on the opposite side of the river 
be not included in the lease which you have acquired, the 
lease will not give you the right to fish beyond the middle 
of the stream. The fisherman, having the right to fish from 
one bank only, can only fish " ad medium filum " — that is to 
say — he must not fish beyond an imaginary line down the 
exact middle of the water in the river, otherwise he renders 



FISHING FOR SALMON 301 

himself liable to an action in law, by the owners of the fishing 
rights of the opposite bank. In many streams, however, 
an amicable arrangement is arrived at which obviates any 
difficulty on this point, but it is advisable to find out 
whether such an arrangement as this can be relied on for 
renting a trout or salmon water. It follows from this, that 
if possible, not only should a chart of the fishing water 
be carefully considered, but that a visit to the river should be 
made before any agreement is signed. 



CHAPTER XVI 

SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, GUT, AXIOMS, ETC. 

Salmon flies — List of flies — Hooks — Flexible eyes — Metal eyes — knots 
— Useful axioms and hints when fishing. 

The salmon can by no means be classed as the lowest of 
its order in the scale of the vertebrata, and, quite apart from 
instinct, memory influences to a greater or less degree the 
life of every vertebrate ; this may explain why a salmon 
will allow certain flies to pass by unmolested, but will, with- 
out hesitation, attack a different coloured or a different sized 
fly. 

It is, I think, generally agreed that fish are able to dis- 
tinguish colours and tones. In every salmon river, there 
are certain flies which are tried over and over again by the 
fisherman as being the ones most likely to succeed, and the 
salmon, after being some time in fresh water, will naturally 
remember the size and the colour of the nasty prickly things 
by which it has so frequently been startled, and however 
much its instinct might compel the destruction of moving 
aqueous life, it — as a consequence of its former experience — 
will be unlikely to tackle these particular flies. I think it 
is important therefore, as the season advances, or some time 
after a run of clean fish has ceased, to try flies other than the 
popular few. 

Those whose water is so situated as to give them the first 
chance at fish as they enter a river may, with every possi- 
bility of success, content themselves with some ten or more 
flies, say — the Thunder and Lightning, the Black Doctor, 

302 



SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, AXIOMS, ETC. 303 

the Durham Ranger, the Silver Doctor, the Jock Scott, 
the Popham, the Black Dog, the Blue Doctor, the Silver 
Grey and the Butcher. 

But it is because these flies are so frequently used that they 
must be familiar to a salmon who has run any distance up a 
stream, and they will therefore probably inspire caution or 
fear. For this reason I think that for those who fish late 
in the season and higher up a river, salmon flies such as those 
included in the following list might supply one whose 
appearance would provoke aggression and not caution. 



Salmon Flies 

I do not think it necessary to give a complete list of the 
names of the many (about 140) Salmon Flies known to the 
fishing world, but I think it will be useful to my reader if I 
give the names of some twenty of the most generally used in 
Great Britain and Northern Europe. 

If the beginner will be content to stock these flies in the 
sizes I recommend, I think he will probably find that he has 
all that are necessary on any stream he may visit and, that 
though the number and variety of his flies will increase, he 
will not, with the flies I have suggested, be likely to find 
his book stocked with specimens upon which his gillie or his 
friends will frown. 



The Name of Fly. 




Range from No. to 


No 


Butcher 






2/0 


4 


Gordon 






2/0 


3 


Golden Eagle 






3/0 


I 


Silver Doctor 









3 


Blue Doctor 









3 


Black Doctor 









4 


Jock Scott 






2/0 


3 


Black Dog 









3 


Dusty Miller 









3 


Popham 






I/O 


3 



K.u\>it> 


trvMw N 


O t« 


> N.> 




J 





,> 




\ 




■\ 




I 




•1 




v> 




5 




1 


o 


,> 




J 




4 




I 





3 




• 


o 


_j 




I 




■\ 




^ 


o 


s 



Thm\«.ioi and I i^htniui; 

Wilkinson 

ChiKitM^i 

StovcM\son 

C«rey Horon 

Kiovy iMvnsn 

Sil\ or (.iioN 

lioUion ^Mivo 

M.uyU l^tVNvn ... 

Whon orderiivs; tUos in\dov the now nninboiinj;. tov ; o 
vcwd \(\ (or \ v"* itWii \ -^ for i read i.j, IvM j road i >. and so oil. 

IL\''KS 

Vho hooks whioh I thu\k protoraMo to all othoi>; aio tho 
iliolmondoloy Tonnoll I imonck Hook, with t\in\ down 
oyos and upunnovl shanks. 

Iho numlHU's used with the list of tlios I havo :;i\on aro 
th«.vso oon\inonly nsod with roforonoo to tho salmon tlios 
supJ^lied by doaloi^. Tho si/os rans^o fron\ Nos. s o. .} o. 
30, i o. o. I. .\ and thoroon down to i -. whuh roprosonts 
thoOvV'' hook, iho smallost si/ovl tro\it fly hook nsod. 

rUe oataloj;no of nuvst tishin^j; taoklo .'.. . -^ will show 
the j^i.'es of the ditleient hooks, and wlu n oidorinj; tlies 
throiVjih them, it is advisable to use whatever system of 
nmnboun:; thoy adopt. 

The &i<e of the hiH>k. !.»•., the fly, to be used when nshing 
will depend to a lar^^e extent on the time of year anvl on the 
state of tiio watov. In tho sprint; the lari;er sahnon tlios are 
!;onoi.Ul\ nsod and to\ind to bo most ertootivo. In tho early 
snmmor tho modunn si.os aro protoi.iblo. while m tho Inll 
snmmor ai\vi m tho antnmn. tho sm.dlost thes are j;onorally 
the most killini;. In tlood waters, the sires used should bo 
relatively larger. When iHv&sible. however, obtain the 



PLATE XXXIV 




Fig. I. 




Fig. 2. 




Fig. 3. 



Splicing the Rod. 



I. — PASSING THE END THROUGH THE LOOSENED TURNS. 

2. — THESE TURNS DRAWN TIGHT. 

3. — THE SLACK LINE PULLED THROUGH. 




Fig. 4. 



Fig. 5. 



Making the Loop. 




Fig. 6. 




Fig. 7. 



The Loop for the Steel Eye of the Salmon Fly. 



SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, AXIOMS, ETC. 305 

advice of those who are acustomed to fish on the water to 
which you are going. 

An assortment of nine or ten of the different flies most 
likely to be suitable on the river and to the conditions of 
each day, can be carried by the fisherman in a small Japanned 
fly box. 

The salmon fly book in which are kept the main stock of 
flies can generally be left at your sleeping quarters. The 
fly book is to the salmon fisherman, what the trout fly 
cabinet is to the dry fly fisherman. 

If possible salmon flies should be thoroughly dried before 
being put back into the case, or returned to the salmon book. 
It is not a bad plan to have a large safety pin, on which to 
string the flies as they are taken off the cast, securing the 
pin to the cap. 

If the feathers, etc., used in the flies are of the best material, 
and if these be carefully tied on the best quality of japanned 
and eyed steel hooks, each fly dried after use and before 
being placed in the fly book, box or cabinet, and protected 
against moth in the off season, the usefulness of each fly will 
extend over many years of active fishing. 

Shop dressed flies are " things of beauty," but rarely 
" a joy for ever " ; and a considerable portion of their top 
dressing can frequently be dispensed with (see Captain de 
Winton's letter, page 348). 

Knots and Gut. Flexible and Metal Eyes 

Salmon flies, the eyes of which are made with flexible 
material, are readily and easily attached to your cast, 
and if the end of the final strand of your gut cast be made 
into a loop, the lower bight of this loop can be threaded 
through the eye of the fly, and passed down and over the 
body of the fly. The loop can then be drawn close up to the 
neck of the eye. 

21 



306 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The loop in the end of your salmon gut cast should be 
formed as follows. The gut is well soaked. It is then 
doubled, being turned up for about three inches. A single 
overhand knot is then made on the bight (Plate XXXIV., 
Fig. 4) and drawn taut (Fig. 5). It is a good plan to hang 
a weight of three pounds or so, for a couple of hours on to 
the loop thus formed. It will draw the softened gut well 
together, and the end can then be cut short off, or whipped 
with fine waxed silk. 

If the end of your cast be single, then for a flexible eyed 
fly no fastening is more effective than a single sheet bend, 
with the end brought up round behind the gut, over the 
eye, and down between the loop of the sheet bend. (See 
Plate XXXV., Figs. 1, 2 and 3). 

Remember always that it is in the flexible eye of the fly, 
and in the end of your cast, that the greatest play will occur, 
and in which the greatest danger may be feared. 

A loop in the end of your cast, so long as it is carefully 
tested each day, lessens some of the dangers, for it is 
strengthened by being doubled, but it will then be the 
flexible eye of the fly which will require the greatest attention, 
that is if the fly be frequently used. 

It is for this reason that many fishermen prefer a metal 
eyed fly ; no danger of deterioration occurs, and the metal 
eye adds to the sinking qualities of the fly. If the steel eye 
of the fly be sufficiently large and a loop be used on the end 
of your cast, this can, when soft, be passed through the 
eye and over the body of the fly, and then drawn taut just 
below the eye. (See Plate XXXIV., Figs. 6 and 7). 

To avoid danger see that both the end of your cast and the 
flexible eye of your fly are softened and pliable before at- 
taching them to one another. 

A metal-eyed salmon fly, unless it is properly shaped, 
has a greater tendency to weaken or break the end of your 



PLATE XXXV. 




Fig. I 




Fig. 




A SHEET BEND. 



UP ROUND AND DOWN 
THROUGH. 



TIGHTENED. 



Fig. I, 2, 3. — Showing the Method of Attaching the Single 
End of a Cast to the Gut Eye of a Salmon Fly. 



Fig. 3 




Fig. 4. 



THE CAST KNOT LOOSELY TIED. 




FIG. S. 



Fig. 6. 



TIGHTENED. 



DRAWN TAUT. 



Fig. 4, 5, 6. — The Knot for Fastening the Different Ends of 
Gut Together when Making up a Cast. 



SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, AXIOMS, ETC. 307 

gut than a flexible eye. The inflexible character of the 
metal eye lends no assistance to the gripping nature 
of the end of the gut cast. 

The knot which I advocate for the small trout 
fly is not a safe one for larger hooks, for the single 
turn through the metal eye of the salmon fly subjects 
the gut at the bend to much too severe and abrupt a 
strain. Another disadvantage of this knot when used 
for a salmon fly is that some portion of the end of the 
gut point has to be sacrificed, i.e., cut off, when the fly 
is changed. 

The most simple method of fastening gut to gut 
is that shown in Diagram 7, but the most reliable 
one is that which should be used when making up a 
gut cast. It is formed in a somewhat similar manner 
to the blood knot made by sailors, formerly used in 
the cat of nine tails, but is made with two ends 
instead of one, as follows: — ■ 

1. Place the two strands of gut together, end to end, but 
over-lapping a few inches, then twist the ends round one 
another six complete turns. 

2. Divide these turns in the centre by the pricker of your 
knife. 

3. Bring each end back and pass them in opposite 
directions through the opening made by the pricker. (See 
Plate XXXV., Figure 4). 

4. Take the other parts of the gut between the smaller 
fingers of the two hands, and, gently pulHng on them, work 
the turns closely together with the fingers and thumbs (see 
Figure 5) . 

5. Draw this knot quite tight (see Figure 6), 

6. Cut off the short ends close to the knot. 

The gut should always be well soaked before this knot is 
tied. 



308 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Useful Axioms and Hints When Fishing 

The quality which will prove invaluable to the salmon fly 
fisherman is that of perseverance. By persistently present- 
ing his lures throughout a long day in everj^ possible position 
likely to harbour a salmon, and by continuing to concentrate 
his energies with care and attention on the purpose of 
fishing, he will with average luck eventually establish his 
position as a successful salmon fisherman. 

It is the billiardist who can continue to concentrate his 
attention on each effort he makes, who will compile the 
biggest break. 

The probable average response of the salmon to the 
efforts of the fly fisherman throughout the year does not 
exceed more than two per diem, and the fisherman does not 
secure more than one fish for every four rises at his lure. 
That is to say, however careful he may be in his methods 
of casting and fishing out his cast, and however persistent 
he may be in presenting his lure to the fish, the average 
fisherman is not likely to secure more than one fish 
for every two hundred casts he makes, and therefore 196 
of these casts will, so far as he is aware, fail to move a 
fish. 

As it is impossible to say at what time of the day, at what 
part of his water, or at which moment of any cast, he may 
be lucky enough to meet with a response, the patience 
required in order to continue casting with unvaried attention 
to every likely spot, and without any view of his quarry, 
or any certainty of there being a fish in the pool he is fishing, 
may be well imagined. 

The moments when a salmon will take are as uncertain in 
their occurrence as those of trout. They seldom take when 
a mist is on the water. They will both take at the com- 



SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, AXIOMS, ETC. 309 

mencement of a rise in the river, but neither will take during 
a rising flood. With these exceptions, however, no hour 
between dawn and night may be looked upon as being an 
impossible one for salmon fishing 

Salmon are taken on the fly during the night, but after 
dusk — a. favourite hour — I must confess to losing my in- 
terest in fly fishing. 

As with trout, I think the best hours for salmon fishing are 
between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. 

No place in any salmon river can be regarded as being 
an impossible lie for salmon, and while local knowledge and 
experience are valuable, instinct and general experience are 
factors which should always influence the salmon fisherman. 
The state of the river, the time of year and day, also the 
meteorological conditions, are potent factors in determining 
the position of salmon in each pool. 

Salmon frequently take well in rainy weather, and for this 
reason it is well to carry with you a light waterproof coat. 

It is better to vary your method of working the salmon fly 
when fishing out your casts. Not only will this be instruc- 
tive and possibly lead to success, but it will help to relieve 
the monotony attendant on a long and possibly blank day's 
salmon fly casting. Unless one is fortunate in getting fish, 
patience is very much wanted when salmon fishing, as long 
days of unrewarded and possibly unrecognized effort lead 
to weariness of mind and body. 

It is the extreme end of your line and also of your cast 
which is the first to deteriorate. It is to the condition 
of these that your attention should be directed. 

Force in Salmon fly casting should be derived from the 
weight of the body through the arms to the rod, and not 
from the exclusive action of the muscles of the right or the 
left arm. 



310 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Do not cast your fly any further than is necessary to 
cover the likely water of the pool or river you are fishing. 
Try and fish your water by casting as much as possible down 
stream. The more you throw your line across the stream, 
the greater the chances of a sagging line. Across and down 
you must cast, but down as much as possible. 

The salmon fly which is most deadly is that which is 
fished on the straightest line. 

When into a fish have your line well reeled in and keep 
as near to the fish as possible ; also do not let your line 
drag in the water. 

A slack line leads to danger, and it also prevents your 
bringing pressure to bear at once on a fish which has taken 
the fly. 

As the salmon comes in towards you, be as still as a statue, 
and when you are certain of your fish then gaff it. 

Keep the point of your gaff sharp. 

Carefully examine and test your fly and cast after killing 
a fish. 

Movement can most easily be given to the fly at the end 
of a straight short line. With a long line much of the 
impulse given to the rod will be lost ere it reaches the 
fly. 

When a fish sulks, do not let him rest or foul your line, 
but alter your position on the bank if possible as soon as 
you can, until you are opposite or below the fish, and if you 
then bring your rod sideways upstream and well back, you 
will soon move him. 

When fishing the lower reaches of any salmon river, and 
when the water is discoloured, or the river full, heavy rods, 



SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, AXIOMS, ETC. 311 

lines, and lures can be used, and with advantage ; but when 
the water is small and as clear as crystal the lighter the 
rods, tackle and flies, the greater should be the success in 
getting fish. 

Fish carefully but quickly. Do not potter in your fishing 
and as much as possible avoid showing yourself. 

Rough weather, or tumbled water, especially in the 
summer time, is a factor in favour of the salmon fisherman, 
probably because the breaking and tumbling of the waves 
oxygenates the water and enlivens the fish. 

It is believed by many experienced fishermen that sea- 
trout and salmon seldom take while on their initial run up 
a stream, and not until shortly after they have reached and 
settled for the time being in a pool ; but if they have 
been washed down they may take at any time or anywhere 
for the first day or two after the spate has begun to 
subside. 

My reason, for saying this, is that I have so frequently 
hooked a discoloured fish in the more rapid parts of a river 
and in the most unlikely places for a salmon to lie. 

The record salmon for 1907 was caught by myself after 
a spate on the Namson River, in the middle of a run between 
two pools, and in a portion of the river in which it seemed 
impossible for a fish to rest. From its appearance this salmon 
must have left salt water at least two months previously. 

While the colour of a salmon fly is undoubtedly of some 
importance in securing fish, the size of the fly is of even 
greater consequence. 

The fly which has killed your last fish will be the one you 
fancy, but perhaps not the best. 



312 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

So long as the barb is sharp enough to effect a lasting 
attachment, and the eye strong enough to stand the strain of 
a fight, the more knocked about an ordinary shop dressed 
salmon fly is, the more effective it very often appears to be 
when fishing for salmon. 

It should also be remembered that after a spate the 
minnow and the fly may at any time of the year be used 
with equal chance of success. 

Generally speaking, the deeper the lure when wet fly 
fishing or spinning the better, for the less distance that 
a big fish has to move, to the lure, the greater the 
chance of securing it. 

Spin slowly, as long as the bait spins freely. 

The perfection of a spinning reel does not consist in the 
distance a lure can be thrown, but in the mechanical 
perfection of its mechanism to the object of fishing. 

When wading be especially careful as you approach the 
head of any salmon pool — a rapidly shelving soft bottom, 
or a rocky ledge and a strong stream behind the fisherman 
have proved potent factors in many cases of drowning. 

Don't, therefore, wade deeply when directly above and 
approaching the head of a salmon pool. 

Lower the rod well down, and always take in sufficient 
line before making a fresh cast, to make your back cast 
successful. 

Be certain that your salmon has received his conp-de-grdce 
ere attempting to disengage the lure from its mouth. 

After a salmon has received its coup-de-grdce there are 
two periods during which its flesh should be cooked and eaten. 
The first period is from one to four hours after it has ceased 



SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, AXIOMS, ETC. 313 

to live, i.e., before rigor mortis has set in, and the second 
period occurs when rigor mortis has passed. 

It is incomparably better to cook and eat the fish, or 
indeed any flesh, before it begins to stiffen. This period, 
however, is a short one and variable in its length, depending 
on temperature, meteorological conditions, and the circum- 
stances attending death. 

The period during which the flesh should not be cooked 
and eaten, that is the period when rigor mortis continues, 
is also variable. Its duration can easily be detected by 
handling the fish or flesh. 

A Refractory Joint. 

Owing maybe to the want of a little mutton fat, the 
sockets connecting the different joints of the rod may at 
times become fixed, or stuck together, and the greatest care 
must be used in separating them, in order to avoid injuring 
the delicate material of the rod. 

If, when you are taking your rod to pieces, you find that 
you cannot disengage any two of its lengths, you should 
proceed as follows : — Wet one corner of your handkerchief 
or any strip of strong linen, and opening out the end, wrap 
it on the smaller joint of the two pieces, about six inches 
from the socket, then bind the linen tightly round the rod, 
the first two turns of the linen over-running its own end, 
and thus passing this ligature tightly round and round the 
rod, continue until the turns reach the joint. 

If the end of this ligature be now grasped in one hand, 
it wiU hold the upper and smaller end of your rod firmly 
and safely, and if the thicker joint of the rod be grasped 
by the metal socket and twisted round, the refractory 
joint will in most cases be easily and safely disengaged. 

If, however, the two joints of the rod are still inseparable, 
place yet another strip of linen or your handkerchief in a 



314 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

similar manner about six inches below the refractory socket 
of the lower joint, but making the turns in the opposite 
direction to those already placed on the upper joint, and 
thus winding this new ligature tightly on the rod, continue 
until it reaches and covers the metal portion of the socket. 
The two ligatures will now meet one another at the refractory 
socket, and if they are grasped firmly in the two hands will 
permit a perfectly safe but firm grip to be made on the two 
joints, and they will thus be easily separated. 

If the fisherman finds that the linen or the handkerchief 
does not grip the rod, he can first pass a little of the small 
end through the nearest ring, and then down the joint, 
overlapping this end, with the first turn, etc. 

If, when near home, you find the sockets fixed together, 
take the two joints into the house, and by leaving the rod 
until the morning, the dryness and warmth of the room in 
which it is kept will probably loosen the sockets or at any 
rate considerably assist their ultimate separation. 

When the joints are separated, see that they are rubbed 
clean with a dry rag, and then kept well greased with 
mutton fat in the future. 

As with golf, so with the salmon rod : don't press. It is 
knack and not strength which achieves the best and most 
accurate casts. Never exert your last pound of strength ; 
keep well within the limit of your power. A correct action 
is perhaps the most important art in fly casting. At the 
finish of any cast, if there is any slack line hanging below the 
upper hand and the winch reel up at once ; never have any 
slack line before the winch when expecting a rise. 



CHAPTER XVII 
METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 

The action of the salmon rod. — ^The position of the salmon reel — ^The 
salmon rod — ^The right-handed overhead cast — ^The forward cast 
— ^The left-hand overhead cast — The Wye cast — The side cast 
— ^The Galway cast — Curved casts — ^The loop cast made in one 
plane — ^The loop cast made from left to right — ^The same cast 
from right to left — ^The switch cast — The Spey throw — ^The Suir 
river cast — A variation of the Wye cast when danger is behind. 

As I have stated already, in each and every cast which can 
be made, the movements of the double handed rod are 
exactly similar to those made by the single handed rod, the 
only difference being the manner in which the rod is held 
and the method in which the force is applied. 

Bearing this in mind, the reader must not be surprised 
if I do not deal with the various casts with the two handed 
rod at such length as I thought necessary when dealing 
with the single handed rod. Therefore, while saying all that 
is necessary to aid the beginner in learning how to make 
each of the various casts with the salmon rod, I am relying 
on him to have first studied the respective casts with the 
trout rod. 

I shall, however, accompany my description of these casts 
with certain plates which I think will assist the student 
not only with the salmon rod, but with the trout rod. 
Many of these plates will be from instantaneous photographs 
taken when actually casting, and the line will be shown 
exactly as it appeared on the plate, but in some cases, this 
line has been very carefully strengthened, so that in the 
half-tone process, its reproduction may be readily discerned. 

316 



316 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

It is now necessary to consider the manner in which the 
Salmon rod* should be held, the position of the body, the 
angles through which it should move, and the method of 
applying the necessary force in the backward and forward 
casts and the position of the reel. 

The Position of the Salmon Reel 

In salmon fly casting, if the fisherman uses most commonly 
the right-hand cast — that is, the cast in which the right hand 
is uppermost — the handle of his reel should be facing the 
left hand, for he can then most readily use it when fishing 
out a cast, or when playing a fish, without shifting his right 
or upper hand. The butt of the rod can rest either in the 
belt socket, or against the body, while the left hand easily 
controls the line and reel. If the left-hand cast is generally 
used, the handle of the reel should face toward the right. 
If both right and left hand casts are equally employed in 
casting, then the position of the handle of the reel may be 
left to individual choice. 

The Salmon Rod 

The student should always bear in mind that in every 
method of casting with a salmon rod, the rod has to move 
through the same angles and with similar relative velocities 
as the trout rod, when it is employed in making the same 
kind of cast, and a study of the casts described under the 
head of trout casting, Chapter X., will greatly facilitate 
the ability to cast perfectly with a salmon rod.f 

The salmon rod is held by the two hands, about two feet 
apart, one being above and the other below the reel. 

* For convenience I shall allude to the double-handed rod as the salmon 
rod. 

t Francis Francis says : — " A good trout fisher will easily become an expert 
at salmon fishing, but a very respectable practitioner with the salmon rod 
will have all his schooling to do afresh, before he can take rank as a master 
of the art." — A Work on Angling, 1885. 



PLATE XXXVI. 



PLATE XXXVII. 





RAISING THE SALMON ROD IN THE 
BACKWARD ACTION. 



THE CORRECT POSITION AT THE END OF 
THE BACKWARD SWITCH. 



PLATE XXXVIII. 




The Author on the Usk Fishing out a Cast. 



THE NORMAL POSITION FOR FISHING. 



METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 317 

The hands grasp the rod firmly, the thumbs being extended 
along the handle. In the normal fishing position the arms 
should be inclined downward, the hands holding the rod in 
a nearly horizontal position, one hand being just behind the 
hip and the other in front of the body (see Plate XXXVIII.). 

The Right-handed Overhead Cast 

The normal manner of standing and holding the rod 
before making this back cast is as follows : — The right foot 
should be in advance and pointing in the plane in which the 
line has to travel, the weight of the body being evenly 
distributed between the two feet. J 

The right hand grasps the handle of the rod above the 
reel, the left hand being below it ; the right arm, shoulder 
and foot should be pointing forward, and the rod held well 
down (see Plate XXXVL). 

The object of the back cast is to extend the line in the 
air behind the fisherman, to a point opposite to that at which 
the fly has to alight at the end of the forward cast. 

In making the backward cast the rod is first raised and 
brought slightly forward with both hands, so that its top 
rises vertically upwards. See the position of the hands, 
arms and body in Plate XXXIX. 

The backward action is then made in the vertical plane of 
the body by moving the two hands in opposite directions, 
pulling back the right hand and pushing forward the left 
one, and at the same time slightly raising the rod. The 
Diagram 16 and those showing the movements of the trout 
rod should be again considered, as they also show the angles 
and the movements, etc., made by the salmon rod. 

X The left foot should not be in front unless the left hand is uppermost on 
the rod, as it most certainly detracts from the command over the forward 
cast. The right hand dominates the right handed cast, therefore the right 
side and right foot should be in such a position as to give it the greatest 
power and assistance. 



318 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 




Diagram i6. 

Figures A, B, C, and D show the movements of the arms and rod in the 

backward cast. 
A, the general elevation of the rod when fishing. 
A, B, C, D, the sweep of the rod in its backward action. 
D, the angle at which the rod pauses before commencing the 

forward stroke. 
D, C, B, A, The sweep of the rod in its downward action. 

The upper, or right hand, must be drawn backward with 
an accelerating motion to a point just above the head, while 
at the same time, the lower or left hand, acting as a moving 
fulcrum to the force applied by the right hand, is forced 
forward, the rod being checked, as shown, at an angle of 
about twenty-two degrees behind the vertical line of the 
body. (See Plates XXX VII. and XL.). 

The rod, as it is raised (see Plate X XXI X.) , being retarded at 
its point by the weight and frictional resistance of the water 
to the line, bends downward and the right hand becomes the 
dominant power, while the left hand is the secondary power 
as well as the guiding force and the fulcrum on which this 
power works when making the back cast, a point midway 
between the two hands being the pivot on which the action 



PLATE XXXIX. 




The End of the Raise and the Beginning of the Backward 

Switch. 

PLATE XL. 




The End of the Back Switch. 

NOTICE THE ALTERED POSITION OF THE SHOULDERS AMD ARMS. 



METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 319 

of the rod is centred. The upper hand will make similar 
curves to that of the hand when using a single-handed rod. 
(See Diagram 17.) 




Diagram 17. 
The sides i, 2, 3 of the triangle ABC represent the upward, back- 
ward and downward motion of the upper hand in the overhead cast 
with a sahnon rod. 

The object of moving the rod in a vertical plane is to give 
absolute accuracy to the forward cast. Even if the rod, as 
in some of the other methods of casting, be moved from one 
plane to another, it should always when possible — in order 
to insure accuracy — be brought down in the vertical plane 
in which is situated the spot at which the fly has to alight. 

The power in this backward pull of the right hand is 
derived from the weight and movement of the right hand side 
of the body as it turns or twists — on the ankles — to the right, 
until the shoulders are square with, i.e., facing the point, 
to which the fly has to fall, and the force thus originated is 
applied to the rod through the right shoulder, arm and hand. 
Neither the right nor left arm in this backward movement is 
straightened. The right elbow is raised and moved back- 
wards sideways, and the rod, brought vertically back, is 
checked directly above the top of the head, the line of sight 
being to the right side of the handle of the rod. The spinal 
column acts as a vertical centre, the left shoulder and left 
arm are thrust forward during the movement, the head being 
kept absolutely steady and the eyes fixed in the direction in 
which the fly has to fall (see Plate XXXVIL). 



320 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

If anything the action of the lower hand should be made 
with less force than that used by the right hand when 
making the back cast. The lower hand should not be 
extended to the full length of the arm, but should be brought 
to a sudden stop ere this be reached, and the upper hand 
should be stopped as it reaches a position immediately 
above the head (see Plate XXXVII.) 

In the preliminary practice, when making the first back 
cast, the upper hand should, when holding the rod, enclose 
the line above the reel, the thumbs should be extended 
along the rod, and the line should run out in a straight line 
in front of the student. 

Assuming that this practice is taking place over grass, 
the point of the rod should be lowered prior to making the 
back stroke, and the slack line taken in. 

The rod should then be steadily raised in a vertical plane 
to an angle of about sixty degrees, and continued into the 
back cast by a switching action precisely similar to that 
used in the backward action of the trout rod, the force 
applied to the rod being a pull which increases in strength 
until the rod is checked as it reaches an angle of twenty- 
two degrees behind the vertical line (see Plates XL. and 
XLL). The line in the latter Plate is shown as curling 
back. 

For the correct position of the arms, hand and rod, at the 
conclusion of the back cast, see Plate XXXVII. 

A pause, slightly longer than that made with the single- 
handed rod, is necessary to allow the line sufficient time to 
extend itself behind the fisherman, and at the end of this 
pause the forward cast should be made. 

The Forward Cast 
The left hand is the dominant power in the forward cast 
and pulls the butt end of the rod horizontally backward 




cq 



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METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 321 

towards the hip, its power being derived from the left 
shoulder as the body turns — on the ankles — to its former 
position. The right hand in this movement is the secondary 
power, which guides and forces the rod down and acts as a 
moving fulcrum. 

As the body turns or twists to its former position, it thus 
supplies the power through the shoulders, arms and hands 
to the forward cast. 

As the rod moves forward and downward, its point bends 
backward toward the fisherman (see Plate XLIL), and 
straightens itself after it is checked. 

In mentally considering these instructions it will be well 
to concentrate the attention on the right forefinger and the 
left thumb in the backward action, and on the left forefinger 
and the right hand thumb in the forward and downward 
action. 

The forward and downward action of the forward cast 
should be checked when the rod has reached an angle of 
about thirty degrees to the horizon, and the rod is then 
lowered by bringing the left hand back to its original 
position (see Plate XXXVIII.). 

I think, until the correct backward and forward motion 
of the rod has become a matter of habit, a great assistance, 
in order to obtain the correct action, is to think of my 
suggestion made under the head of " Trout Fly Casting," as 
to there being a portion of clay pressed on to the tip of the 
rod, which has to be switched off the rod in a horizontal 
direction. If the correct rod movement is made, a clay ball 
fixed to the top of the rod would be flicked off either back- 
ward or forward, and it is by exactly similar movements of 
the rod that a perfect backward and forward extension of 
the line should be obtained. 

The greater the force of the wind against the fisherman 
the lower the downward impulse of the rod. 

32 



322 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The sudden stopping of the backward or the forward 
motion of the rod at the moment of its greatest tension will 
give the flicking off impulse so essential to a perfect cast. 
The rod must never be jerked at the commencement of any 
stroke, but drawn, the force gradually increasing up to the 
moment when the rod is suddenly checked. The hand 
or hands must always grasp the handle of the rod firmly at 
the conclusion of each of the backward and forward motions. 
This grasp will of necessity produce a rigid wrist, and 
should therefore assist the sudden check which is so 
important. 

If, therefore, the backward motion of the rod and line 
has been properly made, and if the correct forward motion 
be then given to the rod, the impetus imparted to the line 
will be sufficiently great to pull through the rings of the rod 
from one to three yards of the slack line between the hand 
and the reel; this adjunct to all good casting is known as 
" shooting the line." When fishing it secures the following 
advantages ; a greater length in the cast, less exertion to 
reach the desired spot with the fly, greater accuracy, and a 
lighter fall of the line on the water. The line will only 
shoot, however, when the correct forward action of the rod 
is made. In order to permit this extension of the line, it 
should be released — as with the trout line — after the rod is 
brought to a stop in the forward cast, and, if necessary, the 
spare line should be fed up toward the lower ring with 
the left hand, the butt end of the rod resting either against 
the body, or in the butt-rest in the belt of the fisherman. 

The Left-hand Overhead Cast 

In this cast the left hand should be above, with the 

thumb pointing up the rod, and right hand below, the left 

foot and shoulder pointed forward, the action of the rod 

and the motion of the arms being precisely similar to the 



METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 323 

right hand cast, the hands merely changing their places 
on the rod. 

Assuming that practice is now taking place over still 
or running water, the point of the rod should be lowered 
well toward the water prior to making the back stroke ; 
the current will then take out, or the fisherman may take in, 
any slack line, and as the rod is steadily raised accelerando 
the line will rise well to the surface until the fly be just about 
to leave the water, when the action is ended by a quickening 
backward switch, the force applied to the rod being a pull 
which increases in strength as the rod goes back, culminating 
as the butt of the rod reaches an angle of twenty-two 
degrees behind the vertical. 

The use of the double-handed trout and salmon rod is 
nearly always confined to the wet fly method of fishing. 
The fly or flies are mostly fished across and down stream, 
and are generally thrown to an angle of about sixty degrees 
across the direction in which the current is flowing. The 
fly or flies are sunk below the water, and drift down stream 
round towards a point immediately below the fisherman, 
his object being to make his lure work in such a manner as 
to be easily seen, and to vary the appearance it presents to 
the fish. 

The Wye Cast. 

This cast for the salmon rod has already been described in 
Chapter XV., and for the single-handed rod in Chapter X. 

The Side Cast of the Salmon Rod 

The movements and velocities of the salmon rod, when 
making the side cast, are precisely similar to those of the 
trout rod described in Chapter X., and are an exact 
replica of the overhead salmon cast made in the horizontal 
instead of the vertical plane. 



324 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The Diagrams 9 and 12 can again be referred to, and, if 
considered as being drawn in the horizontal instead of the 
vertical plane, will show the exact angles and bends which a 
two-handed rod should make in this cast, the two hands 
being employed instead of one, and moving against one 
another in the horizontal plane instead of the vertical one. 

Before making the backward cast, the rod should be 
lowered and all slack line taken in. The rod should then 
be raised in the vertical plane — in order to get the line well 
on the surface of the water — and then brought down side- 
ways until it is about forty degrees to the right hand of the 
fisherman as he faces the direction from which the fly is 
being raised, and about thirty degrees above the horizon. 

It is then switched back with a slight upward tendency 
to the angle of twenty-two degrees horizontally behind an 
imaginary line drawn at right angles to the fisherman. 
It should then be pointing at about thirty-five degrees 
above the horizontal, and after the necessary pause to allow 
the backward extension of the line, the forward cast is 
made, the rod being checked before it reaches the direct 
line in which the fly has to fall. 

The Galway Cast 

This effective cast has already been described for the single 
handed rod (see page 186) and if these instructions are care- 
fully studied the Galway cast can easily be made with the 
salmon rod. 

The rod is first raised to an angle of about sixty degrees, the 
hands, arm, rod, etc., being held as in the overhead cast, 
the thumbs up, the knuckles down, both arms bent and the 
reel below the rod, the line being extended well in front of the 
fisherman. 

As the body turns in the direction of the back cast, 
the weight is transferred from the right to the left foot. 



PLATE XLIM. 




The Galway Cast. 



AFTER THE BODY HAS TURNED AWAY FROM THE WATER AND BEFORE THE RIGHT FOOT HAS BEEN BROUGHT 

FORWARD. 



PLATE XLIV. 




The Galway Cast. 



AFTER THE BACK CAST HAS BEEN MADE AND AFTER THE BODY HAS TURNED FORWARD AGAIN, BUT BEFORE THE 
RIGHT FOOT HAS BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD. 



METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 325 

the latter pivoting round on the toe as the body turns, and 
supporting the weight of the body until the foot is 
brought forward. During this movement the position and 
direction of the rod remain about the same, the point 
merely rising from ten to fifteen degrees in the air so as to 
keep the rod in touch with the line. The rod is twisted so 
that the reel now becomes uppermost, the thumbs and 
knuckles also reversing their positions. The arms remain 
bent and the body assumes the position which it should 
have at the conclusion of an overhead backward cast. 
The elbows, etc., of the fisherman are moved in sympathy 
with the action. 

The right foot is now brought forward and as this is being 
done the forward and downward switch is made, but in a 
direction which avoids any possibility of danger, so that 
in reality what should have been a backward cast now 
becomes, owing to the turn of the body etc., a forward cast 
in the backward direction. The rod however, is not brought 
down to its usual level, but is checked at an angle of about 
fifty degrees above the horizon. 

While the line is extending itself the body again turns 
round to the left, and faces the direction from which the line 
has originally been taken and to which the fly has now to 
be directed. The right foot again swings forward, and, as by 
this time the line has fully extended itself, the forward and 
downward switch has to be made as in the overhead cast. 
Plates XLin. and XLIV. clearly show the foot and the 
body movements during this cast. In Plate XLIV. the 
foot is shown leaving the ground and the forward cast 
being made, the line being seen as extended. 

The Galway cast is a very pretty one, and is of use when 
for instance, an opening occurs amid the trees behind the 
fisherman, and when such trees are within the radius of the 
back cast of his line, and when a loop or curved side cast 



26 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

cannot be made. In casting backward in the ordinary over- 
head manner it is nearly always impossible for the fisherman 
to guide his line accurately, and were such an attempt made 
when the open space is small, the backward cast would result 
in the line and fly hitting the trees instead of being directed 
safely through them as described above. 

The Galway cast can be best practised as a substitute for 
the ordinary overhead method of casting a fly backward 
and forward in one plane. When the Galway Cast is thus 
perfected it can be introduced into the Wye cast, and made 
directly after the lifting and side swing movement into the 
new plane of the latter cast has been made. 

In Plate XXXII. the fisherman is raising his rod prior 
to turning. In Plate XXXIII. he has turned. 

The time that a salmon line of thirty- five yards in length 
will take to extend itself after the conclusion of either the 
backward or the forward cast will be about one-and-a-half 
seconds, thus giving ample time for the forward turning 
movement I have described above to take place. A point 
which the fisherman should now remember is that he will 
have to make one whole turn in order to complete the Galway 
cast with the salmon rod, and that while making both the 
backward and the forward half turns, the rod — beyond 
being lifted in the plane in which it lies — has not to be moved 
to either side of that plane. 

If it be desired to introduce the Galway variation of 
the back cast into the Wye cast movement, the rod is first 
lowered to the water downstream, and any slack line is 
gathered in with the left hand. The rod is then lifted to 
an angle of between fifty and seventy degrees (see 
Plate XXXII.), the body and rod sweep round until they 
are facing across stream in the direction in which the line has 
to fall, and the turning movement (Plate XXXIII.) of the 
Galway cast is then made, the back cast is finished 



[ 



PLATE XLV. 



/ 




The Loop Cast — Rod Coming Forward. 



METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 327 

as above described, and the turning movement is again 
accomplished and the forward cast made. 

Curved Casts 

If the rod, and line attached to it, be held upright and its 
upper end by a continuous action moved round in a circle 
horizontally above the head, the line will follow the action 
of the point of the rod, and circle round in a continuous loop. 
The greater the force applied, the longer will be the line which 
can be made to follow the point of the rod, but directly a 
new movement of the rod is made the line will at once 
leave the circular curve in which it has been travelling, and 
will follow the direction which the point of the rod has taken. 
There must however, be no pause in the motion of the rod, 
the curved action must always be made in a steady swing, 
which is merged into a direct cast, towards the spot at 
which the line has to fall, and to which the body should be 
turned. If it be necessary or desirable to make any back 
cast in a circular manner, the circling backward movement 
should not be continued beyond the plane in which the 
forward cast has to be made, i.e., directly the rod in its 
backward circling movement has arrived at a point immedi- 
ately in a line with the desired direction, the movement, 
without its speed being checked, should be altered into the 
forward overhead cast in the desired direction. In the 
variation of the Wye cast mentioned on p. 337, diagram 22, 
such a horizontal sweep is made in the back cast, as the fly 
is lifted from the water. The principle by which this move- 
ment is affected is of the greatest value in making the loop, 
the switch, the Spey, or any curved casts. If the reader 
will turn to Chapter X. he will find these three casts 
exhaustively dealt with as regards the single handed trout 
rod, but containing theoretically all the principles which he 
will have to adopt when making these casts with the salmon 



328 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

rod. I shall however again go over the casts as they 
should be made with the double handed rod. 

If the position in which the fisherman stands with regard 
to natural or artificial dangers does not permit the extension 
of his line in a backward direction either in the overhead or 
the side casts he may still be able to extend it in front of him 
by making the Loop, the Switch or the Spey cast. 

The Loop Cast made in one Plane 

The cast which is known as the Loop cast is one in which 
a complete loop should be made with the line, and although 
the point of the rod does not describe so complete a circle 
as that taken by the line yet its whole movement is of a 
circular nature, which is directly responsible for this result. 

The Loop cast may be considered as the parent cast of the 
Switch and the Spey casts. 

We will assume that the fisherman is standing in such a 
position when he is fishing that he must bring the rod back 
more or less in a vertical plane, that his line and fly lie 
extended in front of him on the water and that he wishes to 
return them in the same plane, but that he cannot extend the 
line and fly more than a few feet behind him. The Loop 
cast should then be made as follows : — 

The rod, when it is held with the right hand uppermost, 
is raised and brought back steadily until it is inclined at an 
angle of about twenty-two degrees behind and to the right of 
the shoulder. The line, following this movement, will be thus 
brought more or less to the surface and from there will run up 
to the rod point in a slight curve. (See Plate XLV.). This move- 
ment is then turned into a forward and downward switch. 

In this Plate it will be noticed that the forward movement 
has commenced. The downward switch is made precisely 
as is the downward switch in the overhead cast, the action 
being finished well down. 



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METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 329 

If the cast is properly made, a perfect loop will run 
along the water, finally extending the fly at the extreme 
end of the line. It will be seen from Plate XLV. that 
the line is being sent forward in the vertical plane. 

In this cast it must be remembered that the rod has to 
be inclined a little to the right of the fisherman, and not 
brought directly behind him, or otherwise in his forward 
effort the loop — which has been extended slightly behind 
him — will in its forward course foul either his elbow or the 
rod in its downward action. 



The Loop Cast made from Left to Right 

This variation of the Loop cast bears a similar relationship 
to the Loop cast, that the Wye cast does to the Overhead 
cast. 

We will assume that the fisherman is desirous of directing 
his fly out of one plane into another, and that in the first 
instance he is standing on a shelving bank, and, having 
fished out his cast, is desirous of sending his fly (which has 
drifted down stream to the left) towards the right and across 
stream. Assuming that his length of line is not greater 
than he can comfortably use, the rod is first raised vertically 
and brought backhandedly to the left, and to an angle of 
twenty-two degrees behind the left shoulder ; while this is 
being done he should turn to the plane in which his fly has 
to be projected ; he then makes his forward and downward 
switch as formerly described. Plate XLVI. will illustrate 
this variation of the Loop cast, and will show the curve made 
by the line ; the disturbance on the water indicates the 
position from which the line has been picked up, and the 
curved line in the air shows the direction in which it has 
been projected. The fly will be noticed just leaving the 
water. 



330 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The Same Cast from Right to Left 

We will now assume that the fisherman wishes to cast from 
the right towards the left hand. The rod is brought back 
in this cast to the right of the right shoulder, and to a similar 
backward angle, the body being turned as this is done, and 
the downward switch made as before. Plate XLVII. shows 
the loop as this cast is made. Either of these casts are 
(as explained on page 195) excellent substitutes for the 
" Spey Throw " and they can both be made with equal 
ease when the left hand is uppermost. 

The Switch Cast 

In the Switch cast it must be assumed that the fisherman 
is standing under a bridge, or under a tree, etc., that he 
cannot raise his rod to a greater angle than forty or fifty 
degrees above the horizon, and that he cannot extend his 
line to any distance upstream. He will therefore have to 
adopt a method of making his cast which bears a similar 
relationship to the Loop Cast that the Side Cast bears to 
the Overhead Cast. 

We will suppose that the line and fly are extended down 
stream, and that the fisherman wishes to make a fresh cast 
somewhere in the same direction. His rod is first lifted in 
order to get the line well on the top of the water. It is then 
drawn back sideways through the same angle as that made 
by the rod in the side cast, continued upwards as far as 
circumstances will permit, and switched forward in the 
direction in which he wishes his fly to go. The first part, 
as is the case with the Loop and the Spey, must be made in 
one continuous action, and it is not until the forward and 
slightly downward portion of the motion has to be made that 
the switching impulse has to be given to the rod. 

In every cast with the double handed rod it must not be 
forgotten that the dominant force in the backward and lifting 




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METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 331 

action is made through the upper hand, and that the 
dominant force in the forward and downward actions of 
the rod are made through the lower hand. 

The Spey Throw 

Those of my readers who have studied the instructions on 
the method of making the Loop, the Switch and the Spey 
casts with the single handed trout rod will find but little 
difficulty in applying those instructions in order to make the 
Spey throw with the double handed rod. It was generally 
supposed that in order to make this cast in the best possible 
manner one should have the advantage of at least three 
factors : — A rapid river, a long and heavy rod, a heavy line. 
Such factors, while they may aid this method of casting, 
and are generally characteristic of the salmon rods and lines 
used at the Spey side, cannot be claimed as being absolutely 
necessary for the Spey throw. 

I have been coaching clients in this throw and its 
variations for over seven years, and I have had some 
of the finest fishermen in the world as my clients, also I 
notice in a recent article written by Mr. Marston that one 
of these clients has been able to extend his salmon line 
for a distance of over fifty yards, with a modification of 
the Spey throw, and Mr. Marston adds that this gentleman 
invariably fishes his dry fly in a similar method of casting. 

I may then claim that my methods are practicable and 
that it must be evident that in the Spey throw, and in some 
of its variations, the fly and line can be projected as lightly 
as it can be thrown in the overhead method. Further than 
this, when once my method of casting a fly backward and 
forward in the overhead manner is acquired, any of my 
pupils can attain perfection in the Loop cast, the Switch 
cast or the Spey throw with the dry fly rod in from one or 
two additional one-hour lessons. 



332 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

It will therefore be recognized that the difficulties which 
have hitherto overshadowed this useful cast need no 
longer deter the everyday fisherman from attempting to 
accomplish it. 

The Spey throw with the salmon rod is a variation of the 
Loop and Switch casts, and when once the Spey throw is 
acquired — as in the Loop cast — in the right handed method, 
it can be immediately and correctly made in the left-handed 
method,fthat is to say, that when once my method of making 
any cast into a habit is acquired with the right hand upper- 
most on the rod, then it is possible to make this cast with the 
left hand uppermost and without any further instruction. 

We will suppose that the fisherman is standing on the right 
bank of his river, that he has fished out his cast and that the 
line is now extended downstream under his own bank, but 
that he cannot make the ordinary Wye cast across stream, 
as there are trees behind him rendering any backward cast 
impossible. He will thus have to make the Spey throw, 
and in this case in the right hand manner. He first lowers 
his rod well to the water, taking in all the slack line between 
the fly and the top ring of his rod. He then raises his rod 





Diagram i8. Diagram 19. 

Lifting the rod in the Spey The up-stream swing, 

throw. 

THE SPEY THROW. 




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METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 333 



vertically in order to bring the line well to the surface of 
the water (see Diagram 18), at the same time also 
turning in the direction to which he wishes to cast his fly. 
He should then lower his rod towards the water again, and, 
without pausing, bring it up-stream with a steady motion, 
finishing this movement at an angle of twenty-two degrees 
to his right, as in the side cast (see Diagram 19). The 
line in this movement is not switched from the water, 
but is drawn along its surface, and at the conclusion of the 
side movement the rod is brought round and up in spiral 
curve as shown in Diagram 20, and is then switched 





Diagram 20. 

The backward and 

upward swing 



Diagram 21. 
The forward and downward switch 
of the rod. 
THE SPEY THROW. 



forward in the direction in which he wishes his fly to fall 
(see Diagram 21), taking care in the downward action 
that his rod does not come into coUision with the Hne as 
it rises from the water. 

U he be fishing with a considerable length of line out, 
instead of swinging his rod with a steady motion up-stream, 
sufficient switch should be given to this action to lift the line 
and fly from the water and to deposit them more or less on 
the surface of the water above the plane in which he is 



334 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

going to cast, the rest of the motion being as before. 

Plate XLVIII. shows the alteration of direction in this 
cast, the photographer having been able to get the line as it 
circles through the air. 

In Plate XLIX. the photographer has taken the line at 
the moment after the up-stream switch has been made, and 
it will be noticed that the line has followed the raising of the 
rod as well as its up-stream motion, and is just beginning to 
extend itself behind the fisherman, who is in the act of finish- 
ing his turn toward the direction in which the fly has to go, 
the spiral and backward raising motion of the rod being just 
indicated. By the time he has completed his turn and 
swung his rod round behind him, a considerable portion of 
the line will have deposited itself on the water on his right 
hand side, and the remainder will be circling round and 
behind him. It will be seen that in this case no possible 
collision can take place between the line and the rod (see 
Plate XLVIII.). 

The " SuiR " Cast 

With regard to the first variation of the Spey cast, it is 
difficult when fishing with a long line to make the 
downward switch across stream without fouling the line, 
and this has led to another very interesting variation of 
this useful cast. 

When fishing the Suir river in the South of Ireland, the 
water bailiff of my host showed me a cast which effectually 
overcomes this danger of fouling the line. The fisherman 
in question could give no name to this cast, and so I have 
ventured to suggest a name for it myself — the " Suir " cast. 

When it is desired to make a fresh cast across the stream, 
and when the backward switch cannot be made, the rod is 
lifted and brought up-stream as in the Spey cast. When 
the rod has reached its up-stream limit, instead of being 



METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 335 

brought round, up and over, as described under the Spey 
cast, it is brought forward again down-stream, the butt 
resting against the hip, the hands are changed, and the left 
foot is advanced, the rod being then brought up and 
backward over the left shoulder immediately away from 
the direction in which the fly has to fall and the fly is then 
switched forward. 

The whole of this movement is continuous, the rod being 
moved backward, forward, and up and over the left shoulder 
as steadily as a golf club should be raised, the acceleration 
forward into the downward switch commencing when the 
rod has reached an angle of about twenty-two degrees 
behind the vertical Hne of the body. 

This cast is very easily acquired, and should be practised at 
first with a line from about twenty to twenty-five yards long. 

I have never seen anyone using it, but I have found it 
extremely useful when a tree or branches on the up-stream 
side has prevented me from bringing the rod up, round and 
backward after the up-stream movement of the rod in the 
Spey cast. 

This cast has this advantage — that more line is Hfted 
from the water and brought up-stream, owing to the up- 
stream motion, than is the case in the left-handed loop cast. 

A Variation of the Wye Cast when Danger is Behind 

My reader will kindly imagine that we are fishing in 
Norway, and standing on the left bank of the Namsen River, 
below the Fiscum Foss. High above our heads we can see the 
river, broad as the Thames at Richmond, as it sweeps over 
the edge of the falls, and appreciate its immense volume of 
water as, thundering in our ears, shaking the rocks on which 
we stand, and covering us with spray, it plunges downwards 
a sheer 200 feet into the enormous salmon pool, which 
constitutes the end of the Namsen as a salmon river, li 



336 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

you look across the water toward the pine-crowned cliffs, 
guarding the approach to the river on the opposite side, 
which run from the falls down stream to the bottom of the 
rapids, you will notice how the surface of the river, as it 
leaves the troubled waters of the head pool, is broken in its 
first smooth glide by an almost submerged brown and grey 
rock some thirty yards from that on which we are standing, 
and some twenty yards from the precipice opposite. There, 
at any time between May and September, resting after his 
journey from the sea, in the eddy of that rock, so long as it 
shows above water, will generally be found a good fish. If you 
can present your fly in an attractive manner, you will probably 
find him in a taking humour, and when happily you may be 
lucky enough to gaff him, and try the same cast over again 
later on, you will probably find another fish in his place. 

You will see at once that you cannot cast for that salmon 
in any other position save from the jutting slippery and 
spray-drenched rock on which we stand ; and to make such 
a cast more difficult, twenty yards behind us rise the preci- 
pitous walls of the river channel, against the iron sides of 
which the overhead or side cast backward of the line will most 
assuredly bring your fly with disastrous effects. 

To present your fly attractively, your cast should be 
sufficiently long to drop the fly three yards at least beyond 
the rock, so that it will then sweep round from the farther 
side, and appear just over the salmon's position. 

This, however, means a fairly long throw, of thirty-three 
yards at least, and although you can shoot the line, it is 
still evident that the wall behind will preclude your extending 
the line in that direction for the remaining thirty yards. 

We cannot use the Spey throw from our only standing- 
place, for you will see how those low-lying rocks run out into 
the stream below us, and our fly, in the up-stream drag of the 
Spey cast, would most assuredly come to grief among them. 



METHODS OF CASTING A SALMON FLY 337 

The axiom that " the line must follow every motion of the 
point of the rod," suggests a way out of the difficulty. 
We must make a curved cast which is a variation of a Wye 
cast (see Plate XXXIL), and one which is most useful when 
fishing from a coracle. 

The line, at the moment in which you make the forward 
cast, must not be extended backward, or the fly would hit 
the rocks behind, and therefore it must be curved at the 
moment of the forward cast and every portion of the line 
must be under the influence of a circular sweep. 



Diagram 22. 

H. The Pivot of the Rod Motion. 

B. The Direction of the Rock. 

C A. Shows the line as the rod is brought round in the upstream 

and backward curve. 
C D. The upstream and backward curve of the rod tip. 
E B. The Une as it is extended forward. 
H C, H D, and H E. The position of the rod as the cast is being made. 

The wind is up-stream from the left side, and this will help 
you in making the curl to the right. You have almost 
thirty-six yards of line extended down-stream and first 
lowering the rod point, you take in about four yards 
of line, and then proceed as in the Wye cast (see Chap. XV.) 
to lift your rod vertically, and then to bring it round in 
front of you to the right up-stream. You then curve it 
backward in a continuous sweep, and as the rod point 

23 



338 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

comes immediately behind you convert this movement into 
the forward switch in the direction of the rock (see 
Diagram 22). 

The line following the path your rod has taken 
will confine itself to a more or less extended curve, 
and will, if the stroke is done properly, have avoided the 
dangerous face of the cliffs behind you. When the cast has 
been properly made, you will be rewarded by seeing your 
fly falling lightly on the far side of the rock, and may be, 
as I have seen, a fish plunging upward, and then downward, 
with your fly in his mouth. You will feel the ecstatic and 
electric thrill as the first strain of the salmon comes on your 
line, and thank Providence that your fly has not been 
snapped in half by the rocks behind you. 

The Suir River cast described above would be a useful 
one in this case. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE SALMON FLY VERSUS THE SPINNING LURE, 
AND SOME RECORD TAKES 

The salmon fly and the spinning lure — Colour of fly — Size of lures — 
The number of hooks on a lure — Advantages of the spinning lure 
— ^The selection of a salmon lure — ^The Welsh Wye — Some record 
takes of salmon — British Isles — Another record — A fifty-pound 
salmon. 

The Salmon Fly and The Spinning Lure 
The correct solution of the problem as to the appetite or 
otherwise of the salmon when in fresh w^ater should have a 
very decided influence on the selection of flies with which 
they are to be tempted. If it be an appetite which induces 
the pursuit of the lure, then the desire of the fish wUl have 
to be considered as an important factor, and the fly to be 
used should be one which, when it is cast in the particular 
water to be fished, appears in the guise of the most familiar 
and best-liked food upon which the salmon has most recently 
been feeding. The great difficulty, however, which will 
beset the fisherman is that, among the extraordinary variety 
of lures presented to the salmon, there are but few which 
can be claimed as favouring the appearance of any well- 
known or favourite food of the salmon, and he will, therefore, 
be obliged to depend on the experience gained in the parti- 
cular locality in which he is fishing for the most likely fly 
to use. If, on the other hand, it may be (as I advance) 
that destruction is the motive which induces the pursuit of 
a moving object by the salmon, then the particular colour, 
size, and shape should be selected which will most readil}^ 

339 



340 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

and naturally attract the attention and excite this destru- 
tive impulse of the salmon. 

Colour of Fly 

It is recognized that certain peculiarities of colour attract 
the attention of the salmon more in some rivers than 
in others, although the natural life existing in the different 
waters is identically the same. 

It has occurred to me that this partiality by the salmon 
for certain colours in certain streams may be due to the 
different effects produced on the subaqueous appearance 
of water life, by the geological strata of the country affecting 
the bed and the banks of the river, the natural differences 
of the foliage and the vegetation through which it passes, 
and its altitude above the sea. The effects of cloud and 
sunshine, clear or thick water, sunlight or shade, reflection 
or shadow, depths or shallows, spring or autumn, rapid or 
slow current, will all be varied by the above factors, and 
natural phenomena will, therefore, tend to alter at least 
the appearance, if not the colour, of the subaqueous life in 
different waters. Whatever purpose the salmon has in 
his pursuit of a moving object, it is certain that unless 
scared by former experience, he will most readily attack 
the object which has the most natural appearance and 
movement. 

As the ever-varying influences of natural and meteoro- 
logical phenomena will affect the colour of moving objects, 
as hunger may not cause the attack of the fish, and as 
destruction, from whatever cause it arises, certainly is 
the result, the colour of the lure appears to be secondary in 
importance to its having a natural movement and being of a 
moderate size, and the latter factors should therefore, in my 
opinion, be the basis dominating the appearance of the lure 
which should be chosen. 



SALMON FLY, SPINNING LURE, ETC. 341 

On page 348 will be found a letter from Captain DeWinton 
the happy possessor of one of the best stretches of salmon 
water in Great Britain, the Nyth, situated some eight 
miles below Builth, on the Wye. 

The successful fly used by Captain De Winton, when 
making his wonderful spring record of 308 pounds of salmon 
in one day, was the " Thunder and Lightning." 

This particular stretch of water cuts its way in a succession 
of runs, rapids, and most promising salmon pools through 
the Silurian slate of this part of Wales. The country on both 
banks is high and well-wooded, and the bottom of the river 
is dark and rocky. Hence, if one had to choose a fly which 
would harmonize with the character of this part of the river, 
one could not make a better selection than the " Thunder 
and Lightning." This fly is generally recommended and is 
a favourite of my own when fishing those Welsh rivers which 
possess similar characteristics to those of the Wye in the 
neighbourhood of the Nyth fishing. 

Some idea of the colouring of the river is shown in 
Plate L, this part of the river. Lady Alexander Paget's 
water, being about a mile from Captain De Winton's Nyth. 

The letter from Her Grace, the Duchess of Bedford, on 
page 351, shows that her successful fly, the " Black Dog," 
was also one of a dark colouring, and that the River Tay, 
as shown in the background of Plate LI. possesses some of 
the dark characteristics of the Wye. 

The favourite flies used on each river should always be 
tried, especially when fish are " running." Custom may, 
however, stale their infinite variety to fish which have been 
some time in the river, and in any particular pool, and thus 
patterns which are not usually fished on such streams should 
be tried, and will often be found effective. 

When fishing with a minnow as with the fly each cast 
should be fished right out. A fish will often follow the lure 



342 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

right up to within a few yards of the fisherman, and should 
a sudden increase in speed be made at the last moment it 
will frequently lead to an eager rush and a hooked fish. 

Although I now use only the fly or spinning bait I quite 
sympathize with the man who first tries the fly, then the 
minnow, the spoon, the prawn, and the shrimp, and finally 
succeeds in capturing his fish with a bunch of worms. 

Size of Lure 

The advisability of varying the size of the lures offered 
to the salmon must be evident, when it is remembered that 
salmon are caught with the small trout flies, fly spoons and 
with the smallest minnows, and the fisherman should always 
remember that the farther from salt water, the finer and 
lower the water in the river he is fishing, the finer should be 
his traces and the smaller his lures ; a brown-coloured shrimp, 
well sunk, is for this reason one of the most effective lures 
in dead low water. The one drawback however to using 
the finer lures is the difficulty of killing with them, as the 
rod, the line and the cast, with which these are fished, have 
to be proportionately delicate ; but when fish are hooked 
under such conditions the odds are exciting enough to 
please most people, and the use of such fine lures is 
frequently the only method of obtaining sport. 

The Number of Hooks on a Lure 

If only the natural or artificial minnow or spoon were 
used with but a single hook, instead of two or more flights 
of triangles, the minnow would be in every way as sporting 
a lure as the fly, and, both in salmon and trout waters, a 
minnow armed with a single hook would give far greater 
sport, injure and scare far fewer fish, and lead to a more 
equal distribution of catches from the sea to the spawning 
beds. A salmon whose mouth has been lacerated by triangles 



SALMON FLY, SPINNING LURE, ETC. 343 

in the lower reaches is apt to become rather shy by the time 
he arrives at the upper part of the river. 

Fly Fishing versus Spinning 

Under the best circumstances, when the water is in good 
condition, and fish fresh run and plentiful, fly fishing is 
by far the most enjoyable method of angling for salmon. 
The satisfaction is greater and the sporting chances of the 
fight more evenly divided than when using a spinning lure, 
but unless the action of the fly fisher's rod be exactly suited 
to the muscles of the fisherman, and sport be good, the 
skilful performer with the spinning rod may find in spinning 
not only the most effective, but the more fascinating method 
of fishing. 

After the capture of the first few salmon, and when the 
sport has lost some of its novelty, the fisherman will 
frequently have to exercise the greatest patience and 
perseverance, in order to continue casting his fly with that 
care and attention which is necessary in order to be 
successful. 

As the hours lengthen into days, and as the days some- 
times lengthen into weeks — ere the fisherman's labour is 
repaid by the capture of a salmon — unless he be gifted with 
the patience and perseverance which are so necessary, he 
will in all probability find the pastime of fly fishing for 
salmon becoming somewhat wearisome. 

If for instance, he should have a temperament so happy 
as to enable him to place the most absolute faith in the 
particular fly he happens to be fishing with, he will, at every 
cast he makes, expect a salmon to accept his lure ; but if 
not so happily endowed, it will be almost impossible not to 
lose faith in the immediate efficacy of the one, two, three 
or more flies which have been tried for some hours without 
success. 



344 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Advantages of the Spinning Lure 

As there must be about at least a hundred different kinds 
of salmon flies, each one of which is more or less individually 
recommended, it becomes increasingly difficult to place 
faith in any particular fly after it and several others have 
been selected, tried and proved failures ; patient persever- 
ance is required — perseverance in continuing to make the 
best possible cast each time, and patience as regards the 
faith placed in the lure which you happen to be using. This 
is the reason, I take it, that the average man, under average 
circumstances, when he can spin properly, prefers spinning 
to fly fishing. Spinning lures do not vary to the same 
extent as do salmon flies, and there are always one or two 
best spinning lures on any river, and almost invariably one 
special lure in which the fisherman can place his faith, 
without calling upon his patience to aid him in doing so. 

Each individual cast with a spinning lure, no matter how 
many times it is repeated, may therefore be made with 
confident expectation that, if a salmon is in the pool and is 
inclined to take, the lure which the fisherman is then using 
is the best one for the purpose. 

Personally, I cannot always pin my faith to a special 
salmon fly, for I have found so many which, while they have 
been successful on certain days, are absolutely failures at 
other times, and after a series of unsuccessful casts have 
been made in those pools most likely to hold a salmon, I 
have always to make a mental effort to inspire myself with 
that confidence in the fly I am using which makes salmon 
fly fishing such a pleasant exercise. 

One of the factors which tends to make spinning interesting 
is that attention, which creates interest, must be paid to the 
spinning lure after it has entered the water and until it is 
again lifted out — because, unless carefully spun, it will sink 
to the bottom, and run foul of weeds, snags or other dangers. 



SALMON FLY, SPINNING LURE, ETC. 345 

Fly fishing for salmon differs from spinning only in the 
method by which the lure is presented to the fish, and were 
it not for the fact that the spoon or minnow bristles with an 
armament of triangles, the sporting elements of the two 
methods — spinning and fly fishing — would be identical. 

As regards the relative disturbance made when fly fishing 
and when casting a spinning lure over a pool, there is, if 
anything, less made by the latter than by the former 
method, for although the spinning lure alights with a greater 
splash than the fly, the reverse is the case when we come to 
consider the commotion made by the lines which are 
respectively used in the two methods. The tapered salmon 
line used in fly fishing undoubtedly falls with a much heavier 
splash than a spinning line, and it makes a commotion 
when it is picked off the water which is entirely absent when 
spinning is adopted. 

The Selection of a Salmon Lure 

Beyond the experience of the local fisherman as to the 
most killing fly for the hour on his own water, there are, so 
far as my experience goes, no definitely known means of 
determining the salmon fly or even the lure which will be 
the successful one with which to fish, and therefore if the 
right one be chosen it may well be considered a matter for 
congratulation. 

When Dry Fly Fishing for trout there are always certain 
indications which will guide the fisherman in making a 
correct choice of the one and only fly which will prove 
successful ; but when salmon fishing, beyond the experience 
that riverside knowledge may impart, or that local experi- 
ence claims — no definite means of ascertaining which will 
prove the successful lure have yet been suggested. 

There may and may not be some sound reason, and 
possibly some well-considered experience, on which the 



346 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

views of local fishermen are based, but many varieties of 
flies, or other lures, used on any particular river have come 
into favour because they have been those used by the most 
successful of the local fishermen. Other flies, or other 
lures, are either not tried at all, or not until the more 
favourite flies and lures have proved unavailing, and they 
are for that reason often condemned because the mind has 
already decided that the salmon are untakable, and the 
faith and its attendant perseverance which alone bring 
success, have not been exercised when fishing with them. 

On certain portions of the Wye, for instance, it is generally 
believed — and this belief consequentl}^ influences the choice 
of the fishing lure — that spinning bait can be used in the 
spring to far greater advantage than the fly, and the fly in 
autumn to greater advantage than the minnow. Yet I 
have on more than one occasion proved that such a rule is 
better honoured in the breach than in its observance, and 
that the minnow at times in the autumn is equally as killing 
as the fly, if not even more so. Variations in the killing 
properties of any particular kind of lure generally follow 
any pronounced meteorological disturbance. 

In the autumn of 1913, when fishing on the Wye below 
Builth, my hostess, who was using a fly, caught three salmon 
on thelowerpart of the upper pool of her water between 10,30 
and 12 o'clock, while I, who had been fishing the upper part of 
the same pool with an artificial minnow, had not had a touch. 
Finding that the salmon were no longer coming to the fly 
of my hostess, I moved down at noon, and fished the lower 
part of the pool with my minnow, and with this lure I 
killed three salmon before one o'clock. Plate L. shows 
Macdonald, the gillie, gaffing one of the salmon taken on 
the fly. 

But while the nature of the lure may be varied with 
conspicuous success during the day, the following advice 




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SALMON FLY, SPINNING LURE, ETC. 347 

should be remembered — " The finer the water, the finer 
the lure." 

Compel yourself to believe that, during the time you are 
using it, the lure with which you are fishing must be 
successful. 

I have found, in the majority of rivers I have fished, that 
after any spate the minnow and the fly may at any time of the 
year be used, and apparently with equal chance of success. 

Consider and act on local advice in your selection of 
lures, but directly you find them failures act on your own 
initiative, use your own judgment, and be guided by former 
successful experience. 

The Welsh Wye 

It is with pleasure I now give two letters from well- 
known and experienced fishermen, which should be 
carefully considered by my readers. These letters deal 
with the Welsh Wye, which to me is certainly the most 
interesting salmon river in the world. In one, if not the 
most beautiful of its stretches, I caught from a coracle my 
first salmon, a fifteen pound spring fish, with which I effected 
a union just above Bannerman's Inn, and which I landed at 
the bend below the Symonds Yat rapids. The fortunes of 
this beautiful river I have followed since childhood with 
unabated confidence in its ultimate popularity. A former 
Chairman of the Wye Board of Conservators, to whom 
I think the Wye owes so much, J. L. Hotchkiss, Esq., was 
one of the first whom I had the pleasure of coaching in 
casting a salmon fly, and since then very many of those 
who fish on this particular river have been instructed by 
me in fly-casting and spinning, and my predictions that 
ultimately the river of my youth would rank, if not as the 
best, at least as one of the first rivers for salmon fishing in 
the United Kingdom, has been fulfilled. 



348 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

According to the Wye Board of Conservators 3,538 salmon, 
averaging 17 lbs. 6 ozs. were caught with the rod on the 
Wye during the season 1913 (while 6,408 salmon, weighing 
83,686 lbs. were caught in the nets during the same year). 
The largest fish weighed 47| lbs., the best day's take to 
the individual rod being that of Captain de Winton, viz., 
17 fish averaging over 18 lbs. each and weighing in all 
309 lbs. Captain de Winton writes as follows : 

" Maesllwch Castle, Glasbury, Hereford. 
2ist November, 1913. 

" Dear Mr. Shaw, — In answer to your letter re 
my big day's salmon fishing on the Wye, the weight 
of fish was 309 pounds and number 17. Although 
I don't care about records myself, I believe from 
what the editor of The Field wrote to me, that the 
weight is a record for spring fishing, but not for 
autumn fishing. In fact I know two people myself 
who have killed a greater number of fish in the 
day, but in each case, the weight was no comparison. 

" I only used two flies, both tied by myself, a No. i 
Thunder and Lightning, double hook, and a ditto 
size No. 4. I killed twelve fish on the former size, 
and five on the latter ; both flies none the worse, so 
an amateur can tie flies to last sometimes. 

" In answer to your question as to the best lures 
on the Wye, in my part of the river I say without 
any hesitation that one will kill more fish by sticking 
to a fly than by any other method. However, to get 
the best out of a fly one has to know one's water 
thoroughly and absolutely, so as to use the right size 
of fly ; about the right size is no good. 

" As to colour, I do believe very much in the colour 
of the body and hackle, but not in minuteness of colour. 

" With regard to the wing, I don't care a button 
what is in it, so long as there is very little of it. 
We use this lure from 7/0 Dee Hooks down to No. 8 
and No. 10 trout flies. 



SALMON FLY, SPINNING LURE, ETC. 349 

" People, as a rule, will not have a salmon fly unless 
it is a thing of beauty to start with at any rate, and 
the more they get for their money, especially in the 
wing, the better they are pleased. They may be right. 
All I know is that I myself will not use a thick winged 
fly, and generally cut about half the feathers out of 
a shop tied one. 

" Lower down the Wye, the water is not good fly 
water, and a lot of fish are caught, in fact all, I believe, 
with an artificial minnow. 

" I am afraid I have not got a Kodak of my 
seventeen fish, it was so dark the following day, that 
they could not be taken unfortunately, or else 
you should have one with pleasure. 

" On my particular day, I may say, in case it 
interests you, that I only actually played one other 
fish — the tenth hooked — and if I remember rightly 
just touched three others. It was all done between 
10 a.m. and 5 p.m., on half a mile of water. 

" With regard to what you say about salmon 
taking a March Brown, I may say that on this river 
it is on the whole, day in and day out, about the best 
fly you can put on in sizes 7 and 8. Anyhow, in 
those sizes, a March Brown and a Thunder and 
Lightning are my favourites. Of course, one uses 
the latter fly in all sizes up to 5/0 and it is equally 
good in all. 

" I am, yours very truly^ 

" Arthur de Winton." 

Mr. J. Arthur Hutton, the well-known authority on the 
scale markings of salmon, wrote to the author as follows : 

" 21st November, 1913. 
" Dear Sir, — In reply to your letter, it is quite 
impossible to lay down a hard and fast rule as to the 
use of the fly and minnow, but I am quite sure a 
good many fishermen, through their prejudices against 
spinning, lose many chances of catching salmon. I 



3 50 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

know a great deal of this prejudice is caused by the 
fact that the number of anglers who are able to use 
the spinning reel effectively are comparatively few. 

" In the upper part of the Wye I believe the biggest 
portion of the fish are caught with the fly, though 
there are also some experts with the worm, but in 
the middle and the lower waters, where the water 
is more sluggish, the fly is not of very much use in 
the early part of the year, and I should say until 
the end of March five fish are killed with the minnow 
for every one with the fly. In April, the fly will begin 
to catch up to the minnow, and in May, I should think 
quite as many are killed with the fly as the minnow, 
and after that the fly is far away the best bait. 

" A great deal depends on the height and tempera- 
ture of the water. I think, when the water is very cold, 
fish lying in deep water are not very much inclined 
to rise to the surface, and of course when the water 
is high, as a rule, it is hardly clear enough for a fish 
lying in say eight or ten feet of water to see a fly 
on the surface. 

" Yours faithfully, 

" J. Arthur Hutton." 

Some Record Takes of Salmon — British Isles 

Among the most noticeable catches of salmon with the 
fly, and forming a record, which, in my opinion stands alone 
as a sporting triumph, should be mentioned the magnificent 
two days — April 2nd and April 5th, 1913, on the Tay, by 
Her Grace, the Duchess of Bedford, which certainly will 
stand as a record for a lady's rod. No better take for two 
almost consecutive days has ever been made by a lady, and 
there have been but few better records for any one day. 
Plate LI. gives a picture of Her Grace, the fish and the 
Tay, and the following letter will give interesting details 
of how the fish were killed. It will show, as does the letter 



SALMON FLY, SPINNING LURE, ETC. 351 

of Captain de Winton (page 348), the value of a fly, and 
of using one whose colour partakes of the character of the 
bottom and surroundings of the river which is being fished. 
At the particular part of the Tay referred to the pebbles 
and boulders lying in the channel of the river are more or 
less covered with a dark weed. Plate LI. also shows the 
wooded nature of the banks. 

These letters again are interesting as they show the 
remarkable difference in the manner salmon will attack 
the lure. In some cases, a whole day may be lost with a 
series of plucks at the lure by the salmon, which seem to 
be almost equivalent to the " coming short " of a trout. 
At other times, every pluck almost invariably means a 
hooked fish. In Captain de Winton's record, only three fish 
failed to take hold properly, but the Duchess of Bedford 
mentions that on her first day the salmon repeatedly failed 
to take hold of her fly in a satisfactory manner. 

If only four fish out of the many who failed to take the 
fly properly on the first day, had secured a hold, Her Grace's 
record would have been equal in number to Captain de 
Winton's record on the Wye. 

" November gth, 1913. 
"Dear Sir, 

" There were two days on which I landed thirteen 
salmon last spring, and, as generally happens, the one 
least written and talked about was the best. 

" The first day, April 2nd, they were taking very 
short, and fish after fish dropped off directly 
it had spun the reel out. I finished the day very 
depressed, as instead of thirteen, I felt I ought to have 
had at least twenty, though I honestly don't think it 
was my fault. On the 5th, I again landed thirteen 
fish, and I think I only had two other rises. The 
first thirteen weighed 191^ pounds, those on the 5th, 
191 pounds. 



352 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

" April 2nd.— 6|, 9, 7|, 10, 19, 16|, 19, 15, 22, 
16, 13, 22, and 17 pounds. 

" April 5th.— 13, 18, 11, IQi, 10, 14, 22i, 23, 16, 
13, 17|, 14, and 8| pounds. 

" The whole of the above were taken casting from the 
boat, and all but three on the " Black Dog." They 
were caught at Stanley, I forget what the pools were 
called, but I think Pitlochry and Washing Pools. Below 
the pool is a big rush of water, which the boat cannot 
go down, but down which it is always supposed that the 
fish will escape. The banks are high and wooded. The 
pool is not dark, but the sun goes off it fairly early. 

" My rod is an eighteen foot one. 

" I landed 102 fish in 23 days' fishing, all casting, 
total weight 1,503 1 pounds, largest fish 29 pounds, 
18 of these weighed 20 pounds and over, and 51 
weighed 16 pounds and over. I had three blank days 
between 2ist March and 29th April. I can send you 
a photograph when I get back to Woburn in about 
ten days' time. (See plate LI.) 

" I should probably not have made these good 
catches but for my lessons in casting,* and a hint I 
helped myself to when watching a very well known 
angler. Sir H. Maxwell. After making his cast he 
slipped the handle of the rod back so that the rod 
balanced evenly. Oh ! the exhaustion this has saved 
me. When I asked him to improve my casting, by giv- 
ing me hints, he said he could not teach me anything, 
but the hint I stole just made all the difference in a 
long day's casting, in fact made it possible for me. 

" Yours truly, 

" M. Bedford." 

Another Record 

When staying with Mr. Arthur Millington Naylor in 
1897, as a fellow-guest of Mr. George Beck, he told me 

* This remark is a kind reference to the Author's coaching. 




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SALMON FLY, SPINNING LURE, ETC. 353 

after a hard day's elk stalking in the Namsen Lake country, 
the following particulars of his record catch of salmon, 
which bear directly on the possibility of taking fish when 
every circumstance seems to be against you, and also on 
the fact that salmon will " feed " whenever they enter any 
new stretch of water on their up-stream journey. 

This cannot be attributed to that exhaustion which is 
considered by many fishermen to account for the resuscita- 
tion — for recuperative purposes — of the feeding instincts of 
the salmon, for in this instance the run was only a distance of 
one mile, and their already decreasing appetites would stUl 
have been on the wane ; but the destructive instinct seems 
to me to offer a more feasible explanation of the freedom 
with which they took the lures. 

Mr. Naylor, with Messrs. Hansard and Probyn, had taken 
the fishing on the Grimersta River, on the island of Lewis, 
N.B. ; but, owing to drought, the salmon could not run to 
the upper water and the lochs. The river between these 
lochs and the sea was " vera sma'," while seaward at 
the mouth of the river an immense number of salmon had 
collected ; some of these fish seen from the shore appeared 
to be developing some disease on the head and body — 
fungus-like white patches beginning to show themselves — 
while large numbers were found dead at low-tide. It was 
seen that unless rain came, the chances of the fish " running 
up " were nil. 

It occurred to the party that in order to get the fish 
to run and to save their lives {sic), it was necessary to deepen 
the channel of the river as it left Loch Langlabat — the head 
loch of the river, and situated about nine miles from the 
sea — and that if a dam was made below the first of the four 
smaller lochs — which was about 100 acres in extent, and 
within one mile of salt water — a spate could be engineered 
which would bring the fish up to the first loch. 

24 



354 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Labourers were obtained, and every one setting to work 
with a wUl, the upper channel was deepened and the outlet 
from the lowest lake was checked by a substantial earth- 
work dam, which — after bringing the water in it to about 
one foot above its former level — was suddenly destroyed, 
and an artificial spate created, which went tumbling down 
the short lower length of the river and into the salt water 
in which the salmon had been so long waiting. The result 
was an immediate run of salmon to the lake above, where 
they remained for some weeks. 

It was permissible to fish only one rod per day on the 
first beat, which included the first loch in which the fish had 
collected. The total take for the six days at the end of 
August following this artificial spate was 338 [ salmon 
and 71 sea trout, the average weight of the fish being 6 
pounds. 

On the 23rd of August Mr. Naylor killed thirty-one 
salmon, on the 27th the rod which fished the loch got 
thirty-six salmon. On the 28th Mr. Naylor had the record 
catch, taking fifty-four salmon in nine hours, and 
Mr. Hansard caught forty-six fish the succeeding day ; 
the next day again, the 30th, Mr. Naylor killed forty- 
five salmon, all these wonderful records being made with 
the fly. 

No record was made of the salmon lost or which came 
" at " the fly during these busy days, and but little wonder 
can be felt at this, for when a man has an average kUl of one 
salmon to every ten minutes throughout nine hours' fishing, 
he has little time for other matters. The record is in itself 
a wonderful instance of endurance. 

A 50-P0UND Salmon 

It might, perhaps, illustrate the uncertainty of salmon 
fishing and the reward which will at times repay a patient 



SALMON FLY, SPINNING LURE, ETC. 355 

wait on the river-side if I describe the good luck which 
attended my enforced stay on the Namsen River at the end 
of the 1897 season. The late Mr. Merthyr Guest had very 
kindly placed his house at Gartland, and his stretch of the 
Namsen River, at my disposal. I had been entertaining 
a party of my friends, who, owing to previous English 
engagements had one by one left me, and on the 23rd of 
August I found myself alone, to settle with the servants, 
and see that the house was properly closed for the winter. 
I had arranged to follow two of the party further into 
the interior and join them in elk shooting. 

On the very night, the 23rd, on which these two visitors 
left Gartland, a heavy downpour of rain commenced, which 
made their journey up-country extremely unpleasant, but 
which brought down the Namsen River in spate. 

On the 26th of August the river was fishable, and I was 
lucky enough to kill over 200 pounds weight of salmon; 
on the first day, among a lot of other fine fish, I obtained 
one which scaled just over 50 pounds. This was a fine old 
cock fish, which, had he been fresh-run, would probably 
have scaled 60 pounds. He was killed at 5 p.m. on August 
26th. 

This splendid salmon measured exactly 4 feet in length, 
27 inches in girth, and the span of his tail was 13 J 
inches, and he had the biggest head I have ever seen on 
a salmon. He was hooked shortly after four on a medium- 
sized spoon with a 17-feet greenheart rod. He took the 
lure with a tremendous dash, the reel screaming as the fish 
went spinning down-stream ; but, luckily for my nerves, 
he gave me a chance after taking out 100 yards of line, and I 
was able to turn him towards the bank. After trying a 
short run up-stream, he made another dash towards the 
centre of the river, and then another down-stream rush, 
until he sulked in about ten feet of running water. Pulling 



356 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

in to land, I attempted to move him ; but for fifteen minutes 
he lay like a rock, sulking, if ever a fish sulked, and only a 
surge now and again told me I had a fish, and not a world, 
on my line. I might have turned him down-stream, but 
my Norwegian strongly advised me not to do so. as danger 
existed but a short distance below. So it was a case of 
wait. 

Meanwhile, my eyes were beginning to play me 
tricks : the high pine-clad banks commenced running 
up-stream at express rates, whenever I lifted my eyes from 
the rapidly running river at the spot where my fish lay, and 
on turning them on any motionless object, the same curious 
optical delusion occurred. My gillie. Isaac, now planted a 
stone or two below the salmon, and after fifteen minutes' 
sulk, he made a move up-stream, and then a dash across the 
river, we having to follow in the boat for some oOO yards. 
He then came down again and we got him into a big back- 
water, in which I managed to keep him. and finally, after a 
very anxious struggle, we had him beautifully gafted, and 
lying on the bank. 

He took forty-five minutes to kill, and out of that time he 
sulked for fifteen minutes among some dangerous rocks in a 
deep run, about 70 j^ards from the bank on which we finally 
landed him. I also killed two fish over 30 pounds with the 
fiy (Jock Scott and Popham), besides losing another very 
big one. and finished off the day by killing a i!--pound 
clean-run salmon with many sea-lice on him. It was a 
coincidence that Mr. Guest should have killed in the same 
pool, on July 20th, 1894, a 64-pound salmon, the length 
of which was i feet 3| inches, but with all other 
measurements similar to the one just described. Mr. 
Guest's lish was almost the biggest salmon killed on a 
rod at that time. 

I killed on this water, in the preceding year, on September 



SALMON FLY. SPINNING LURE, ETC. 357 

loth, 1896, a clean-run salmon of '21 pounds. This will serve 
to show that this river has every chance of giving good sport 
until the close of the season, provided always that the rain 
is forthcoming, or that there is sufficient water in the river 
to bring the fish up. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE SPINNING REEL AND THE SCIENCE OF SPINNING 
WITH A SALMON OR ANY DOUBLE-HANDED ROD. 

The consideration of a spinning lure — ^The spinning reel — ^The drum, 
its inertia and its rotation — Determining the moment for free 
rotation — ^The control over the drum — Checking the rotation of 
the drum — ^Diagrammatic consideration of spinning with any make 
of the Nottingham reel — The check on the drum — ^The automatic 
starting mechanism of the drum of spinning reels — ^The right side 
cast with the double-handed spinning rod — ^The starting point — 
The action of the rod. 

The Consideration of Spinning a Lure 
The difficulty of learning to cast a spinning lure correctly 
and accurately has been in the past greatly increased owing 
to the fact that there never have been, so far as I am aware, 
any definite instructions as to the exact nature of the 
physical energy required in spinning, or as to how that 
energy should be scientifically applied. 

The art of spinning consists in propelling a lure accurately 
and delicately from the end of a spinning rod, and the mental 
and muscular action which is necessary to make this a 
correct habit is not easy to acquire. It is necessary that a 
well-considered and practised manipulation of the reel and 
the line to which the lure is attached should accompany 
this action. 

As no two absolutely new actions can be thought out and 
performed together — one or other of these two separate 
mental and physical processes must be learnt first. The 
attempt to accomplish them simultaneously will result in 
failure, and a continuance of this attempt, though it may 

358 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 359 

ultimately result in success, will be a long and tedious 
process, in which one of the objects to be achieved will have 
to suffer until the other has been acquired, and even if 
success attends the simultaneous efforts, those efforts, 
when made into a habit, will only be acquired as a knack. 

If the separate process of manipulating the reel be first 
considered and practised until the correct method of using 
it be made into a habit, which answers to desire — then the 
other original process, the manipulation of the rod, can be 
considered, practised and also made into a correct habit. 

It will then be possible to consider and perform the two 
actions of using the spinning rod and the spinning reel 
together. 

It must be evident that the simpler the manipulation of 
the reel, the more quickly can it be learnt, and the use of the 
rod be thereafter acquired. No reel should take more than 
two minutes to learn, more than five minutes to handle, 
or more than half an hour to work habitually. The greater 
difficulty is in learning the correct manner of using the rod. 

The Spinning Reel 

We will turn first to the reel. There are three different 
duties required from the mechanism of the perfect reel : — 

1. Its normal duty — this consists in its working as an 

ordinary fishing reel. The rotation of the drum on 
which the line is wound is held in check by a ratchet 
wheel and a spring controlled pawl. Their united 
duties are to so effect the control of the drum, that in 
one direction of its rotation it presents its strongest 
resistance to the fish, and in the other a considerably 
less resistance to the hand when winding in the line. 

2. Its second duty is the permitting of the disengagement 

of the pawl from the ratchet wheel and the free 
rotatory action of the drum. 



360 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

3. Its third duty is allowing so gentle a braking action 
to be applied to the drum that while it does not 
impede the unwinding of the line, and the progress 
of the lure, yet it prevents the drum from over- 
running the line. 
In the most perfect form of a spinning reel* the first duty 
is being performed when the reel is in its normal condition. 
The second duty is brought into being by a slight and 
continued pressure of a finger of either hand. 

The third duty is brought into being by an increase m this 
pressure, and the normal duty again arrived at by releasing 
this pressure altogether. 

It will be recognized that these three duties of the reel 
should be determined by the most simple and easily 
acquired action possible. 

The Drum, its Inertia, and its Rotation 

The various influences which affect a spinning lure during 
its flight through the air, even if ascertainable, could only 
be considered as affecting the lure at the particular moment 
at which these forces were definitely known. 

It is certain that one cannot solve a problem when the 
different factors connected with that proposition are of an 
unknown and ever varying character, and therefore a 
general formula to determine the exact speed, curvature, 
and position of the lure at each moment of its passage from 
its place of inertia to that of its destination — during the act 
of spinning' — cannot be stated. 

If the lure at a certain moment of its radial passage were 
permitted entire freedom, centrifugal force would exactly 
determine its pathway, but the lure is attached by a line 
to the drum of the reel, and therefore it is only partially 
released. Hence a series of different factors come into 

* See the description of Spinning Reels in the final chapter. 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 361 

play, and influence the onward motion of the lure after the 
drum on which the line is wound has been released from the 
controlling influence of the pawl and ratchet mechanism of 
the reel. 

The principal factors which operate on the spinning lure 
when the drum is released, and which offer a retarding and 
guiding influence to its passage are as follows : — 
(i) The varying influences of gravity. 
(2) The varying friction of the drum in retarding the 

extension of the line. 
{3) The varying frictional resistance of the air to the 

passage of the lure and to the line. 
(4) The varying frictional resistance of the top rod ring 

to the passage of the line. 
That these influences must vary will be gathered from 
the following particulars : — 

(i) The action of gravity on a moving body whose 
velocity is unknown cannot be calculated. 

(2) The rotation of the drum starts from inertia — which 

has to be overcome. Its speed then has to 
be checked in order to prevent its over-running the 
line, and finally its revolutions have to be stopped 
as the lure enters the water. 

(3) This varies according to the meteorological conditions 

of the moment, varies also according to the length 
and curvature of the line, the speed and curvature 
of the lure through the air, and the condition — wet 
or dry — of the line. 

(4) The frictional resistance offered by the top ring of the 

rod to the line varies in regard to the direction in 

which it is extended, and in which the rod is held. 

Now a consideration of this problem, connected as it is 

with so many and so varying a series of influences, all bearing 

on the flight of a spinning lure, must obviously be impossible 



362 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

when actually spinning, and therefore a practical method 
by which the accurate casting of a spinning lure can be 
accomplished will be found useful. 

Determining the Moment for Free Rotation 

Presuming that the fisherman's method of swinging his 
spinning rod be perfect, he has only to determine correctly 
the moment at which he has to permit his lure to leave the 
controlling influences of his pawl mechanism, i.e., the exact 
angle during the radial swing of his rod at which the check 
on the drum of his reel has to be withdrawn — in order to 
insure the accuracy of his casting. 

If, then, a trial cast be made when spinning a lure with a 
certain length and make of rod, a certain frictional resistance 
to the rotatory action of the drum of the reel, a certain 
weight of lure, and to a certain distance, and the lure 
arrives at its destination, it will be evidence that the drum 
has been released at the right moment, and that so long as 
the same rod, line, reel, and lure be used, and a similar 
force be applied by the fisherman, this particular angle of 
release which has effected the correct course of the lure will 
also have to remain constant. 

If, however, in a right hand cast, that is when the cast 
is made by swinging the rod from right to left, the lure has 
fallen to the left of the mark aimed at, it will be evident that 
the drum has been given its freedom too late. If, on the 
contrary, the lure has fallen to the right hand of the mark 
aimed at, it will be evident that the drum has been released 
too soon, and with the information thus gained it only needs 
one or two carefully calculated casts to determine the 
exact angle — during the swing of the rod^ — at which the 
drum has to be released in order to obtain the accuracy 
necessary in casting the lure with the rod from this spinning 
reel. 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 363 

The Control over the Drum 

When a perfectly regulated spinning reel is used when 
casting, the centifrugal force acquired by the lure should not 
overcome the spring controlling the rotatory action of the 
drum, and the lure, therefore, after reaching the position L^ 
Diagram 23, would continue to circle round concentrically 
in line with the rod top, so long as the forward motion of the 
rod is not varied (see K.K.K., Diagram 23, page 365). 

It is obvious that if the lure has to leave this circle in 
order to reach some desired place on the river, lake, etc., 
it will have to be released from the controlling action of the 
drum. A free rotation of the drum is therefore necessary 
if the lure is to proceed to its destination. Directly the 
drum is allowed to rotate the centrifugal force hitherto 
kept in check will cause the lure to fly off at a tangent to 
the circle in which it has been travelling (see L^Q, 
Diagram 23). 

The frictional resistance of the air to the line, etc., 
will gradually affect the speed of the lure and also the 
amount of the line which is being drawn out, but the 
rotatory velocity which the drum of the reel has acquired 
will not be so readily affected, and unless it be checked 
it will eventually overtake the line which is being less 
quickly pulled from the cylinder, and thus cause over- 
running. 

It is necessary therefore that the drum should be again 
controlled, so that its rotatory velocity shall not exceed the 
rate at which the line is being drawn off by the reel. Now, 
this check to the drum of the original Nottingham reel was 
effected by the application of the hand, a finger of which 
was pressed to the side or edge of the rotating drum in order 
to check when necessary its excessive rotation, but not 
otherwise to interfere with its freedom or cause any sudden 
or unnecessary check to the progress of the lure. 



364 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Checking the Rotation of the Drum 
No definite moment can be fixed at which to check the 
excessive rotation of the drum, but as a rule, the greater 
the curve made by the lure after its release from radial 
control, the sooner should the checking action be applied. 
When using a Nottingham reel and when the finger check 
has been applied, it can, if it prejudicially affects the 
accuracy of the cast or the progress of the lure, be again 
released. If, while the cast is being made, the lure is 
released from its radial control at too early a moment it 
will fly off too much to the right of the fisherman, and the 
sooner therefore the rotatory action of the drum comes 
again under control, the sooner will the direction taken 
by the lure be affected and its direction altered towards 
the mark at which it has been aimed. 

It is evident, therefore, that any permanent or continuous 
braking action of this nature is not required, and a reel which 
is so constructed that it is necessary for the majority of 
those who use it to apply a mechanism which enforces a 
constant braking action to the rotatory velocity of the drum 
must be wrong in principle, for the drum when it is first 
released should have the greatest possible freedom of 
rotation, and any permanent check must retard the free 
rotation of the drum and add unnecessary resistance to the 
speed of the lure, and so lose the advantages of a freely 
rotating drum.* 

Any mechanical checking influence on a drum should be 
definitely limited to that which is just necessary, and so 
arranged that it can be taken off or put on at pleasure 
during the time the lure is travelling to its destination. It 
is obvious that the slightest excess will unnecessarily check 
the progress of the lure, and a still greater check suddenly 
applied will be fatal to the success of the cast. 

* See the description of Spinning Reels in final chapter. 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 



365 



Also it must be evident that unless such a delicate 
checking influence can be placed by means of a lever action 
on or off the drum at any moment desired by the fisherman, 
the delicate action of the forefinger directly applied to the 
rotatory drum, as on the original Nottingham reel, is 
preferable. 




) < 



Diagram 23. 

Showing the passage of a lure when thrown from an ordinary Notting- 
ham spinning reel. 



Diagrammatic Consideration of Spinning with any 

MAKE OF THE NOTTINGHAM ReEL 

In Diagram 23 the spectator is supposed to be above 
the fisherman, and to be looking downward at the horizontal 
sweep of his rod and lure. 

In this diagram the rod can be regarded as the radius of a 
circle, of which C is the centre, T the top ring of the rod, 
and D the place at which the line has to fall. 

As the body continues in an upright attitude, and as the 



366 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

feet are not moved from their original position (see Fig. 1, 
Plate LII.), C may be taken as being unaltered during the 
motion of spinning, and representing the vertical centre 
of the fisherman's body and the pivot on which the rod is 
moved. 

As the rod commences its forward side movement the lure 
is affected by radial and tangential influences, and by 
the time the rod, in its accelerating swing, has reached some 
such position as C5, the lure should not only have acquired 
the same radial velocity as the rod point, but should have 
risen to the plane in which the rod point is moving, and 
should have increased its speed so that it is travelling in a 
line with the rod on a circle concentric with that made by 
the rod point (see D C L', Diagram 23) but — so far as the 
centifrugal influence is concerned— its movement has been 
checked by the line which is attached to the drum of the 
reel, and the centripetal force alone is taking effect. 

So long as the speed of the rod is unabated and the length 
of the line unaltered, the lure will continue to circle in its 
larger concentric circle K.K.K. 

In order to propel the lure towards the fish it has to be 
released from this circle, and to obtain accuracy of direction 
this release must occur at some definite angle of its radial 
swing. 

The movement of the rod is, however, only accelerated 
up to a certain angle of its radial movement, after which its 
speed begins to diminish. In order, therefore, to get the 
best effect of this accelerating force of the rod, the lure has 
to be released from its controlling influences, — i.e., a 
free rotation of the drum on which the line is wound 
has to be permitted — while the radial speed of the 
rod top is accelerating. The point at which this release 
is effected is determined by such a trial cast as already 
described. 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 367 

The trajectory of the lure after the drum is released from 
control is shown in Diagram 23. This curve may be taken 
as fairly representing the course of a lure when correctly 
thrown from any make of a Nottingham reel. 

When the rod in its side swing reaches the angle at which 
a free rotation of the drum is required, say at C 6, the drum 
is permitted its freedom of revolution. Were the lure 
entirely released from control, it would obey its centrifugal 
impulse, and fly off at a tangent to the circle in which it had 
been moving (see L^Q, Diagram 23) ; but it is not free, and 
we have to consider the retarding influence of the line, 
which not only prevents its taking such a tangential line 
as L^Q, but which will affect and influence its direction 
onwards. 

As the lure leaves its radial course and assumes a tangential 
one, the line will begin to be frictionally affected by its 
passage through the air, by the frictional resistance of the 
rod rings, and by its having to overcome the inertia of the 
drum. From these causes the direction of its tangential 
flight will be altered, and its course will be curved 
slightly inward and towards the place to which it is 
destined. 

As the inertia of the reel is overcome, the other checking 
influences increase in their effect, tending to check the passage 
of the lure through the air and affecting the curvature of 
its course, but this centripetal influence is thereon lessening 
gradually, and making the trajectory flatter in character 
as the lure travels onwards to its destination. 

The principal retarding factor is the line to which the 
lure is attached. Owing to the free rotation of the drum of 
the reel this line is lengthening rapidly, and owing to the 
curving course of the lure, is being drawn sideways through 
the air. To a small extent it is being moved forward at one 
end by the rod top, and to a greater extent at the other by 



368 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

the lure, and each increasing inch of its curving surface is 
subject to the more or less direct frictional resistance of the 
air. 



The Check on the Drum 

The backward belly of the line as the lure travels onward 
from L II is an important factor in accelerating the 
revolution of the drum of the reel, and hence, as the braking 
action is applied to the drum, and as the lure gets more into 
line with D, Diagram 23, this belly will be gradually 
straightened out and if the reel has been properly controlled 
the line will, by the time the lure reaches the water, be 
nearly in the straight line of CD. 

The more directly the lure can be projected to its destina- 
tion, the less will it require centripetal control to influence 
its course; the more divergently the line is projected when 
released from control, the greater will be its curve through 
the air, and the greater will be the resistance it meets, and 
the greater the necesssity for such a resistance if it has to be 
curved towards its destination. 

Hence, if the greatest possible distance of casting is 
required, the more correct the principle which tends to reduce 
the necessity of centripetal influences after the line is 
liberated, and permits of a direct, or at least of a more 
flattened trajectory between the rod top and the destination, 
the better. In Diagram 23 the greater the cord HH, the 
greater will be the retarding influences of the line, and the 
greater the necessity for such retarding and curbing 
influences. 

But the necessity for this centripetal influence ceases as 
the lure approaches its destination ; for its course becoming 
a straight one the influence of the line is only a retarding 
one. 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 369 

The Automatic Starting Mechanism of the Drum of 
Spinning Reels 

Automatic mechanism for starting the rotatory action of 
the drum of a spinning reel, in order to lessen the retardation 
of the lure caused by the inertia of the drum, should increase 
the distance to which the lure ma}- be cast, but such 
mechanism will render the reel more complicated, and its 
management more difficult to acquire. The angles at which 
the drum is automatically started, i.e., the moment when 
the line and lure are released from the check of the drum, 
will differ from the angle at which the drum is released 
when using an ordinary Nottingham spinning reel, and the 
automatic starting apparatus will have to be regulated from 
time to time in sympathy with the weight of the lure and the 
velocity imparted to it by the radial action of the rod point. 

If for instance the automatic starting gear were regulated 
for casting a two ounce lure from a twelve foot spinning rod, 
it would, unless altered, give the drum of the reel a rotatory 
velocity greater than that required to supply the line which 
a half ounce weight cast from a nine foot rod requires, and 
consequently unless regulated, the drum would over-run the 
line with the lighter lure. 

If the lure is a very light one, and the line to which it is 
attached is wound up on a revolving drum, a good method 
of releasing the line is that in which the spool acts as does the 
drum of the Illingworth, or Malloch's reel. 

The lighter the lure, the greater the difficulty in over- 
coming the inertia of the drum, and the greater must be the 
trajectory of the flight to its destination ; and vice versa. 

The greater the weight of the lure, the greater the distance 
it should attain, and the attempt to apply automatic methods 
of overcoming the inertia of the drum at the moment the 
line is released in the act of spinning, is only made to bring 
the usefulness of the ordinary spinning reel into line with 

25 



370 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

those which, like the IlUngworth, are solely designed for 
casting the very lightest of lures. 

It is a simple matter to apply a mechanism to a spinning 
reel so that, simultaneously with the release of the drum, its 
rotatory action could be accelerated, but a simple and 
effective means of regulating this impetus to the various 
weights of the lures used when spinning has not so far been 
established on a reliable basis. 

Automatically starting the reel will also mean that the 
lure would have to be liberated on a different tangential 
line to that adopted in the ordinary method of spinning 
from the Nottingham reel, and a fisherman who had been 
accustomed to use the ordinary Nottingham reel would when 
using this accessory have to vary his habit of casting. He 
would, if everything went well, reap this advantage — the 
lure would proceed with less trajectory, i.e., in a more direct 
manner to its destination— the curvature made by the lure 
and the line being reduced — and as less frictional resistance 
would then be offered to the progress of the lure, a greater 
distance could be attained. 

It seems to me that in fishing from a pier or from the shore 
line, when a distant cast is desirable, such a mechanism is 
hardly necessary, as distances approaching 117 3'ards 
have been achieved when using the original Nottingham 
sea fishing reels. 

The less the tangential direction is altered by having 
to overcome the inertia of the reel, the more directly can 
the lure be thrown towards its destination. 

This will be seen from the Diagram 24. For the sake 
of argument we must suppose that the lure which is attached 
to the rod and line when an Illingworth reel is used, does not 
suffer from retardation, and consider at what point the 
lure should be released during the swing of the rod in order 
to arrive at the place D. 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 371 

The radial direction is altering at each second of the rod 
action, and therefore if the cord of an arc were drawn from 
a point A in the circle described by the radial movement of 
the top rod, one inch to the right of the point T, which is 
situated at a right angle to the direction D, (Diagram 24), 
to a point A one inch to the left of T, the direction of AA 
would indicate the direction of its tangential force, and a 
lure suddenly liberated from a point T in this action would 
fly off in the direction of D, parallel to C D. 

TANGENTIAL DIRECTION T 



Diagram 24. 

Showing the direction taken by a lure hberated at T, when it is not 

subjected to centripetal influence. j 

In spinning with an lUingworth reel or a Malloch reel, 
this is practically what happens, for the only retardation 
is one which is due to the frictional contact of the line 
with the rings of the rod,* and that made in passing over its 
own turns on the spool. The rod force therefore culminates 
at T, and the lure liberated there will fly off in the tangential 
line AA, the slight retardation above mentioned being the 
direction of the lure round and towards D. 

If, however, the lure be not liberated in the true meaning 
of the term, retardation of some sort must occur. 

* This is noticeably so with the Malloch reel, for the spool or drum of the 
reel, on which the line is wound, is from three to four inches in diameter, and as 
the line is rapidly drawn off the spool in the axial direction, a running spiral 
curve in the line is created, and a considerable check occurs as these coils pass 
through the guiding rings of the reel. 



372 



FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



The greater the retarding forces of inertia, the resistance 
of the air, etc., the sooner in the radial swing of the rod must 
the drum be permitted to revolve freely. 



'^/v. 



%> 






'fc 



X 



15 <- 




Diagram 25. 

Showing the direction taken by a hire when Hberated at T. When 

this is subjected to centripetal influence its course curves towards D. 

When using an ordinary spinning reel the drum is permitted 
its freedom when the rod point has arrived at some such 
angle as C T, and as the lure is circling round in the 
concentric circle. Its centripetal or retarding forces have 
therefore to so alter the direction of the lure from the 
line of its tangential impulse AA as to curve it inward to 
its objective point at D. See Diagram 25. 

We must now consider the method of using the rod when 
casting the lure from a spinning reel. 

The Right Side Cast with the Double-handed 

Spinning Rod 

The Spinning Rod should be held in a similar manner to 

the double-handed fly rod, the right hand being above the 

reel, and the left hand below it, but the left hand should be 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 373 

so situated that it can easily and comfortably control the 
mechanism of the spinning reel. 

It will be well for the student to remember that the 
forward movement of the spinning rod is the only one which 
needs any consideration, for the movement which corres- 
ponds to the backward action of the fly rod is effected by 
merely winding in the lure and turning the body and rod 
in a direction more or less opposite to the spot at which the 
lure has to fall, which latter is indicated by the letter D 
in Diagrams 23, 24 and 25. 

Practice has proved that if a swinging impulse is given to 
the lure prior to commencing the actual forward side move- 
ment of the rod, a more pleasant and effective spinning cast 
can be made ; the reason being that such a swinging motion 
brings the lure at the end of its back swing nearly to the level 
of the top of the rod, thus bringing it into the plane in which 
it has to travel. Consequently, the snatching movement, 
which is so perilous to an effective cast, is by this means 
avoided. It requires some little attention, however, to 
effect a forward motion of the rod at the correct moment of 
the swing of the lure, and therefore, when practising, I 
should advise the student to start his forward swing when 
the lure is in a state of inertia. He can thus devote his 
whole attention to the more important consideration of the 
forward rod action and the manipulation of the reel. 

The Starting Point 

The forward right side swing of the rod should commence 
from a position of inertia, the lure hanging down from two 
to three feet below the top of the rod. The point in the 
horizontal circle to which the rod has to be held, when 
starting this movement, will depend on the weight of 
the lure which is being thrown, the length of the rod, etc. 
The lighter the spinning bait, the greater the frictional 



374 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

resistance to the free rotation of the drum of the reel, the 
shorter the rod, etc., the further back must the rod be 
brought before starting the forward cast with any ordinary 
form of Nottingham reel. 

Assuming that the weight of the lure is between one and 
two ounces, and the rod about eleven feet in length, the 
position from which the rod point should start will be an 
angle of about thirty degrees to the right hand side of the 
fisherman as he stands with his back to D. The position 
of the body should be as shown in Plate LII., Fig. 1, the 
weight should be on the right foot, the arms bent, the body 
upright, and facing away from the direction D. The vertical 
angle at which the rod should be held is about twenty-two 
degrees above the horizon. 

The Action of the Rod 

In order to make the cast, the rod should be swept round 
sideways, with sufficient radial force to project the lure to D 
(Diagram 23). The hand which dominates this movement 
should be the left hand as in the forward, side or overhead 
cast with the fly rod, the right hand acting as a moving 
fulcrum and at the same time guiding the direction of the 
rod. The arms should not be straightened. 

The actual motion of the arm should be as nearly as 
possible that made by a man when he is mowing. The 
swing of the rod should start from inertia, as in the golf 
drive, and its motion should be an accelerating one until 
it reaches a point in its radial swing — T^ — at right angles 
to D (Diagram 23). Its speed should have been such that 
the lure will have extended itself in the same line as the rod 
before the drum of the reel is released. The point of the 
rod in this accelerando swing should rise gradually in order 
to give an upward as well as a radial movement to the 
lure. 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 375 

Figure 2, Plate LII., will show the position of the 
body just after the drum of the reel has been released. 
It will be noticed that the rod has risen from an 
angle of twenty-two degrees to about forty-five degrees 
above the horizon. The body is now facing sideways 
at right angles to the line of D.* The weight of the 
body now rests evenly on both feet, both arms are bent, 
and the accelerating motion of the rod has just reached 
its culminating point. The drum being released, the lure 
is flying off more or less at a tangent to the circle made b}^ the 
rod point. As has already been explained the tangential 
direction is now being affected by several curbing factors, 
and by their influence it will be drawn gradually round 
until it is, while gradually losing its speed, proceeding in an 
almost direct line to its destination, D. The drum of the 
reel, however, is not losing its speed to the same extent as 
the lure, and its rotation has, as explained previously, to be 
delicately retarded. 

Figure 3, Plate LIT, shows the end of the forward cast. 
The weight of the body is now resting more on the left foot, 
the rod point has dropped to a slightly lower angle, and the 
lure is falling towards D.* The arms are still bent, and the 
rod is pointing to the right hand of the line D (Diagram 23), 
but the rod still follows the line as it settles down, and should 
ultimately point to the spot at which the lure falls on the 
water, the pressure of the finger being then released, and the 
reel allowed to resume its normal condition. 

If the correct manipulation of the reel has been made into 
a habit, the whole attention can be devoted to the movement 
of the rod ; the arms should do the work, swinging the body 
at the same time as the rod. 

The difficulty in casting from the spinning reel is that the 
mind has to be concentrated on a rod motion, which is made 

♦See Diagram 23. 



376 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

as though the fisherman were casting his lure to a point at 
right angles to, and not towards D (Diagram 23), no matter 
in what plane the cast is being made. 

In the right hand side cast the effort should be — as at 
golf — a swing, whose force is greatest at that radial point of 
its circling movement, which is at right angles to the 
direction of D (Diagram 23). In the overhead cast 
the swing should be made with an upward motion in a 
vertical arc of a circle instead of a downward one,* the mind 
being concentrated on the upward effort, the greatest force 
being used towards the zenith. 

I cannot help referring at this moment to the oft-repeated 
advice, " Keep your eye on the ball." Golf authorities fre- 
quently refer to the fault of not keeping the head down, but of 
moving it before the club has struck the ball, their idea being 
that the movement of the head, or the fact of the eye being 
taken off the ball, is responsible for the foozling of the shot. 

Accuracy is not due, however, to the fact that the eye 
is kept on the ball, or that the head remains stationary, but 
that the mind has remained stationary to the object which 
the golfer should have in view, i.e., the striking of his ball. 
If his attention should wander from this object, in spite of 
the fact that his head is kept down, he will, unless he has 
made a habit of a correct stroke, foozle his shot. If for 
instance his mind turns to the consideration of the direction 
in which his ball will go before he has struck the ball, his 
drive, etc., will suffer, for his swing will not reach its 
maximum force when the face of the club comes into contact 
with the ball, but at some point in the course nearer the 
direction to which he has turned his attention. 

Among the many fine axioms given by the late General 
Nogi to the Japanese youths, on the night of the funeral 
of the late Emperor of Japan, was the following : 

* As at s;olf. 



SPINNING WITH A SALMON REEL 377 

" Pay attention to what you are looking at. A 
person whose eye is always wandering gives evidence 
of an unstable mind," 
or in other words — A wandering eye denotes a wandering 
thought. 

A habit having already been formed as to the angle at 
which the drum has to be released from the controlling 
influence of the pawl, a perfectly even accelerating 
movement as in mowing should be made towards and 
through this angle to a point at right angles to D,* the motion 
of the rod diminishing from that point until it comes to a 
state of rest as shown in Figure 3. 

At the moment when the lure is released, it should have 
been flying round in a line with the rod and concentric 
with the rod top. The effect of releasing the drum and 
allowing the centrifugal force to come into play wdll be to 
permit the lure to fly outward and apparentl}^ to the eye 
of the fisherman, be retarded slightly behind the direction 
in which the rod is moving, but as the frictional resistance 
of the air to the line, and the frictional resistance of the 
rings of the rod to the line, etc., come into play, and as the 
motion of the rod gradually diminishes, the lure, curving 
inward, may again pass the direction in which the rod is 
pointing and proceed in a gradually flattening curve to D. 
The body should be kept as upright as possible and the 
weight altered from foot to foot as in the golf stroke. 

The whole of these movements should be carefully con- 
sidered, until the thoughts which have to accompany the 
actions become a mental habit, and if then the above method 
of spinning be adopted, great accuracy in casting will be 
attained — not as a knack, but as a habit. 

Briefl}^ when the position No. 1, Plate LIL, is taken up, 
the attention should be directed to swinging the rod with a 

* See Diagram 23. 



378 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

circular mowing action which increases in speed until the 
rod has attained a position T, at right angles to D, when the 
rod and body should be as in Figure 2. The dominant force 
should be applied through the left hand, and the lure 
released from radial control at an angle such as A, which the 
trial casts have shown to result in accuracy of direction. 
The rod should rise in a gradual curve and its speed be 
gradually lessened after passing T. The final position of 
the body should be as in Figure 3. The rod, after it has 
arrived at the position in Figure 3, Plate LIT, should be 
permitted to settle into its normal fishing position. 

In Figure 3, Plate LII., I have faced the camera, in order 
to show the exact attitude of the body, arms and feet at the 
end of the forward swing. The spectator has to imagine 
himself as being at the position D., Diagram 23, at which 
the lure has to alight, and not at T., as in Figures 1 and 2. 



CHAPTER XX 

NEW ZEALAND AS A FISHING GROUND 

The Northern and Southern Islands of New Zealand have 
well been called the " Fisherman's Paradise," but the 
Dominion of New Zealand is as remarkable for its enjoyable 
climate, its beautiful scenery and its excellent shooting, as 
for its unrivalled trout fishing. The visitor will be well 
advised not only to take his fishing gear, but also his shooting 
outfit and his camera. 

The moose, Wapiti, Virginia, Columbia, Axis, Japanese 
deer and chamois, and mountain goats have been introduced 
for several years, and are increasing so rapidly that they will 
soon (1914) be included in the shooting now open to sports- 
men ; the red deer afford trophies finer and larger than are 
obtainable in Europe. 

Loch Leven and Rainbow trout attain a size unknown in 
other parts of the world, affording in every part of the 
islands the most excellent sport, and wild cattle, wild boar, 
wild duck, wild goats, pigeons, pheasants, hares, etc., are 
common in many parts of both islands. 

The fisherman has the choice of either wet or dry fly 
fishing, spinning or trolling — with the certainty that in every 
district he visits he will not only find abundance of fish, but 
fish whose size and fighting qualities are unequalled, while 
his sport will take him into regions whose interest and 
beauty are unsurpassed in their variety and charm. 

That both the Rainbow and the Brown trout grow to a 
size unknown elsewhere and multiply so rapidly is due first 

379 



380 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

to the abundant supply of natural food in the rivers of New 
Zealand, secondly, to the climatic and meteorological 
conditions, which are eminently suitable to their growth, 
etc., and thirdly, because there are no otters or other 
enemies of their own kind preying upon them or their 
natural food. In Canadian rivers and lakes, which present a 
vast and varied field to the fisherman, many other kinds of fish 
exist, and, like the muscalonge, feed on and destroy every 
other variety of fish, including trout. 

Trout fishing commences in both Islands on Octo- 
ber I and continues until April 30, with the exception 
of the Rotorua district, where the season opens on 
November i, and continues to the end of May. It 
is advisable therefore, when it is desired to fish for the 
whole season in New Zealand, to start in the South Island. 
If the tourist arrives at Christchurch in the South Island 
about October i, he will be able to get good fishing 
at once. He will find that the first month of the season 
is not so favourable to dry fly fishing as fishing with the wet 
fly or minnow. In the rivers it will later on be possible, with 
the dry fly, to kill trout up to 3 and 4 pounds in 
weight, while the average weight for the trout in the 
smaller streams may be regarded as about one pound. 

The brown trout run up to 15 or 20 pounds in 
weight, and though big trout may occasionally be induced 
to take the dry fly, yet the wet fly or the minnow at the 
opening of the season will be the best method of fishing. 

The natural food of the trout is abundant, but it is varied, 
and the fisherman should have and be able to use different 
kinds of lures, in order to imitate the food upon which the 
fish is feeding at any particular moment of the day, night or 
season. 

The fisherman who goes to New Zealand unaccompanied 
by a servant may find it difficult to obtain a man who will 



NEW ZEALAND AS A FISHING GROUND 381 

serve as a gillie or a body servant. Wages are high, work 
is abundant, men are scarce, and in such a democratic 
country as New Zealand there is a disinclination on the part 
of the class which is represented by those to whom we allude 
as the labouring or servant class, to render personal services 
to any man. If therefore the tourist is used to the services 
of a valet nothing would suit his book better than to take 
such a servant with him to New Zealand, and if such an one 
can cook, can valet, and is accustomed to roughing it, he 
will be of the greatest possible use and comfort during a 
fishing trip. If not, it is better on one's arrival at Christ- 
church or Wellington to try and obtain the services of some 
such a servant, especially one who has already had some 
experience of camping out in New Zealand. 

In the South Island the streams are, I think, more get- 
at-able than in the North Island, and if the fisherman 
desires to be independent and to start at any particular 
moment from one place to another, or to go to any place 
for a few days or hours, the trip will be rendered much more 
pleasant if he has his own means of transport. 

The tourist to New Zealand must remember that those 
rivers in which he may get the best sport are likely to be in 
districts which are often inaccessible to either motor car 
or buggy. In these cases if horse vehicles are used the 
animals can be turned into pack horses as occasion requires, 
and the necessary tent, food and clothing can be taken from 
the buggy, etc., to any desired fishing. A buggy with two 
horses can be hired at a certain definite price, and can be 
taken for a week, for a month or longer, and may be only 
necessary for a certain portion of the trip. If a long journey 
has to be made the railway companies offer facilities for 
transporting both horse and buggy, motor car, etc. Better 
stni than depending on horses, which after all take up a 
considerable amount of time in grooming, feeding and 



382 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

watching, is to hire a car. There are several agencies for 
letting out touring cars, and, as the roads as a general rule 
are quite good enough for motor travelling, a car is obviously 
much more convenient for transporting one's belongings and 
for rapid transport. If a car be taken it can be left at the 
nearest farm house when the neighbouring rivers are being 
fished. The farmer can be relied on for helping — and 
guiding the fisherman to the water he wishes to fish. These 
suggestions are made, if perfect freedom of action, com- 
parative independence, and comfort be a consideration, 
but if the fisherman is contented with getting the ordinary 
trout fishing common all over the Northern and Southern 
Islands, he has ample opportunities of obtaining the best 
brown trout fishing in the world, by depending on coaches, 
postal arrangements, railways, and the help of the New 
Zealand Tourist Agency. 

All of the streams and rivers of both Islands can be fished 
from the banks, by wading or from canoes. The streams 
and rivers of the Southern Island are more open and more 
easily fishable from the bank than those of the Northern 
Island. 

Near the mouths of the rivers, in or just above tidal 
water, are some of the largest brown trout in the world, 
running from 15 to 24 pounds in weight, and affording 
most exciting sport. The times at which these big 
trout seem to be most frequently taken are during the 
half lights — early in the morning or late in the evening — 
but the movements of the tide will alter the time of day 
which gives the best sport — the trout coming in with the 
tide and descending again as the tide runs out. When 
fishing for these, salmon tackle will have to be used. The 
rush down-stream of these monsters can only be met by 
the strongest tackle and the most determined opposition. 
Although the general fighting character of these big brown 



NEW ZEALAND AS A FISHING GROUND 383 

trout varies according to the season, the average fish will 
put up a fight equal to any clean run salmon of equal weight. 
Night fishing, however, is in my opinion never so satis- 
factory as day fishing. Fish will rarely play at night with 
the same dash and vigour that they show during the day- 
light. This may have some bearing on brown trout fishing 
in New Zealand (Southern Island) for it is a fact that 
the vigour and resistance of the trout vary tremendously 
at different times, and that though day after day and night 
after night, each fish may put up a magnificent fight, yet 
this glorious spell of good fishing will be followed by 
others during which the resistance of the trout caught would 
hardly excel that offered by a fairly good stream caught 
English pike. In this respect the brown trout differs from 
the rainbow trout or the sea trout ; either of the latter will 
always fight vigorously to a finish. In any case, taking an 
average of pound for pound, the brown trout will, I con- 
sider, during a season afford more sport than will a salmon 
under similar conditions. 

In addition to brown trout a certain number of rainbow 
trout are to be met with in the Southern Island, but the 
brown or Loch Leven trout are the most common fish the 
tourist will encounter. Besides brown trout, eels, which 
grow to a tremendous size, exist in some of the lagoons, 
reaching as much as 30 pounds in weight. These eels 
will feed on water fowl, are tremendously voracious and 
would no doubt attack any living creature unlucky enough 
to fall into the water. The colonists in certain parts kill 
them by spearing them. A client of mine having shot a 
water fowl of some size, was amazed to see it seized and 
torn to pieces by eels in one of the lagoons high up among 
the mountains of the Southern Island. 

In some parts of the South of New Zealand during the 
warm weather the fisherman is subject to the attacks of 



384 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

sand flies, etc., which are so bad that without some effective 
fly repeller they will most effectually prevent fishing. The 
specific sold by Messrs. Allen and Hanburys, Ltd., called 
" Muscabane," is unrivalled in its power of driving away 
every kind of flying or creeping insect pest. It is made up 
in one ounce and two ounce tubes, and the effect of a very 
little of this cream applied to the face, neck, arms, etc., 
will last for several hours. It is not only a preventive, but 
it is a cure for bites already inflicted, and is extremely 
pleasant in its perfume. 

In no other country in the world does the Government 
take such a paternal interest in the success of the sportsmen 
who visit its shores as does the New Zealand Government 
with regard to its sporting visitors. Both in the Northern 
and Southern Islands are established numerous offices of the 
New Zealand Government Tourist Agency, and if the tourist 
be in difficulties, no matter what the circumstances, if he 
can only get a message to the nearest office of the agency, 
he will find his difficulties are things of the past. Every 
information as regards hotels, fishing and shooting districts 
and quarters, mountaineering or sight-seeing, is provided 
free of charge, and the visitor can place himself unreservedly 
in the agents' hands, secure in the knowledge that the best 
and at the same time the most moderate methods of 
accomplishing the object of his visit to New Zealand will be 
explained to him. 

Convenient and cheap railways, steamboats and coaches 
take the tourist from one part of New Zealand to any other 
part, and the expenses of a fishing trip to that country 
compare very favourably with those of a fishing trip in any 
other portion of the world, while the certainty of obtaining 
any amount of the best sport is assured. Not only have the 
moose, the elk, and Virginia deer been introduced by the 
agency of the New Zealand Tourist Department, but the 



NEW ZEALAND AS A FISHING GROUND 385 

red deer and wild boar, pheasants and abundance of birds 
are common and afford excellent sport. The cost of a 
sportsman's licence, which has to be obtained from the 
Government, is by no means heavy. The boars have been 
a feature of both islands since the days of Captain Cook, who 
touched at Wellington on his passage between the Northern 
and Southern Islands, and the descendants of the pigs he let 
loose on the Southern Island provide some of the finest 
trophies obtainable anywhere. 

The fishing in the Southern Island can be enjoyed until 
after Christmas, and it will then be well for the tourist to 
proceed to the Northern Island — the island which is so 
celebrated for its rainbow trout. The two or three months 
which he will thus spend in the lower island will have 
afforded him experience which will be among the most 
exciting and pleasant reminiscences of his life time. He will 
have had some thoroughly good sport, he may possibly 
have come across many other travellers and have formed 
many delightful acquaintances, while he will have been 
living amongst the most beautiful, striking and interesting 
scenery in the world. 

The fishing tourist in the Northern Island should depend 
on the advice he receives from the New Zealand Agency with 
regard to the best method of reaching the particular rivers 
he desires to fish. 

The most interesting river in New Zealand is the 
Wanganui. It can be reached easily by rail, either from 
Wellington or Auckland, and both above and below 
Taumarunuii it should be fished from a boat or canoe. 
It is probably the most beautiful river in the world, 
unsurpassed either in its grandeur or scenery. It flows 
from the centre of the Northern Island and empties itself 
into the sea about 150 miles north of Wellington. 
The Wanganui is as rich in legendary lore as in 



386 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

grandeur and beauty. Brown trout are not common, 
but rainbow trout from 4 to 20 pounds are killed in this 
river. Both wet and dry fly should be used. The most 
desirable way of fishing this river is to obtain Maori guides 
with canoes, start well up towards the source, and dropping 
down with the current, fish and camp as fancy dictates. 
Sometimes, it maybe, the main river will be joined by some 
beautiful and trout-abounding streams, but whether fishing 
these with the dry fly, the glides with the wet, or spinning 
in the rougher water of the rapids, sport, and sport of the 
best, will be there, and in a profusion sufficient to glut the 
appetite of the most determined record hunter. If one 
of the party happens to be a good cook, and if rifles and guns 
are taken, the fisherman will be certain that his larder will 
be supplied at times with other forms of food. 

Leaving the Wanganui, the best known resort for fisher- 
men, there is the Taupo or the Rotorua country where 
the tourist will be in the midst of the wildest and most 
volcanic part of the thermal district, and in the centre of 
probably the best and most prolific trout fishing in the world. 
For two or three years, now happily past, in some of the 
lakes of the Rotorua district the fish seemed to be troubled 
by disease, a great many of those caught presenting the 
appearance rather of kelts than of healthy fish ; this may 
perhaps have been due to the tremendous slaughter which 
had been going on during the preceding years. Mr. Donne, 
for a long time the head of the New Zealand Agency and 
one of the best known sportsmen in New Zealand, considers, 
and with reason, that the better and stronger fish were 
naturally the first to seize the bait and the first to be caught 
and it was not untU these began to be kOled off that the 
leaner and poorer ones began to be in evidence. Mr. Donne, 
who is now the Representative of Emigration at the High 
Commissioner's Office in Victoria Street, London, was the 



PLATE LIU. 



PLATE LIV. 





The Buller River. 



The Waxganui. 

PLATE LV. 




Landing a 2-lb. Browx Trout, Southern Island, New Zealand. 



NEW ZEALAND AS A FISHING GROUND 387 

principal or head agent of the New Zealand Government 
Tourist Department, and as such he arranged a system 
of pounds in each of the larger rivers running into Rotorua, 
and all those fish taken in these pounds, which presented 
a kelt-like or diseased appearance were killed and used 
as manure, the healthy fish alone being allowed to live. 
By this means the size and quality of the fish during the last 
five or six years has considerably improved, and the kelt- 
like trout have practically disappeared. Plentiful as is the 
supply of natural bait in these waters, yet it may not have 
been sufficient to provide food for the immense numbers 
of rainbow trout which have thronged these lakes. I think 
also that the temporary falling off in the weight and 
condition of the trout in Rotorua may be due to the effect 
of the sulphur springs. 

It is well to remember that in all volcanic regions, the seis- 
matic disturbances are the pulses which indicate the vital 
energy of the moment — pulses which beat, therefore, with 
intermittent force, and consequently the amount of sulphur 
which these volcanic agencies send to the surface of 
these lakes may undoubtedly have been greater during 
the one, two or three years, in which the condition of the 
trout suffered, than during the preceding or succeeding one, 
two or three years. This, then, may have been the factor 
which caused the temporary deterioration in the condition 
of the rainbow and brown trout with which the rivers and 
lakes of Rotorua were supplied. Quite apart from the 
scientific aspect of the illness which attacked the trout of 
Rotorua is the report of all fishermen that the trout which 
presented the kelt-like appearance were more or less affected 
by a species of worm. As worms are common among English 
trout in certain seasons of the year, this may have been only 
applicable to certain meteorological conditions of New 
Zealand. Rotorua was the first place where the rainbow 



388 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

trout were introduced, and the catches of them in'] these 
lakes continue to furnish new and wonderful records for 
lake fishing. 

Undoubtedly the river in New Zealand which has yielded 
the greatest individual takes of trout, and which is there- 
fore the best trout river in the world is the Tongariro. 

As regards the size of the rainbow trout in the Northern 
Island fishing, where the Tongariro discharges itself into 
Lake Taupo, six trout were taken by one rod in 191 1 on 
one night averaging 17 pounds each. 

The female rainbow trout in the Northern Island in 
January and February will give as much fun as sea trout 
of the same weight. This is the highest praise that can be 
bestowed on a fish, and although the big fish do not come 
at the dry fly, the struggle that ensues when a fish is caught 
with a wet fly, will repay the voyage to New Zealand. 

Major Squire, a fishing client of mine, killed in thirty-six 
days 240 rainbow trout weighing 2,034 pounds, an average of 
8| pounds per fish. My friend, however, whose interests 
are by no means centred in making records, looks upon his 
fishing as a scientific pleasure, and did not attempt in any 
way to emulate others, simply fishing as the fancy took him 
and discontinuing his fishing when he was tired. In 1910 
one of the most indefatigable fishermen of New 
Zealand, in one day caught forty-two fish, weighing 419 
pounds, and of these thirty-seven were killed on the 
fly. As this means an average of 10 pounds to a fish, 
I should think no more wonderful record has ever been 
made. Not only does it show the wonderful richness of 
the river, but it speaks of extraordinary endurance on the 
part of the fisherman. When it is remembered that a rain- 
bow of 10 pounds will on the average give as much fight 
as a fresh running salmon of 16 pounds, the endurance 
in making such a record is marvellous. I have received 



i 



NEW ZEALAND AS A FISHING GROUND 389 

from clients of mine, who have gone out this 1912 and 1913 
season, the best of reports from both Islands as to the trout 
fishing. The fish are reported as being in excellent condition 
and plentiful, the rivers specially mentioned being the 
Orura, Waikato, Rangotata, Tearoha, and Rakahi. Lake 
Taupo has also been fishing remarkably well. 

In 1905 a gentleman, Mr. Hardy Topham, came down 
from London to Sidmouth, at which place I was staying, in 
order to induce me to give him lessons in casting a trout fly. 
I had not considered the idea of starting a school at that 
time, but finding he was on the point of going out to New 
Zealand for a six months' trip, and that he had had no 
experience in fishing at all, I therefore took him with me 
for a few hours' instruction on the stream I was fishing in 
Devonshire. In the spring of the following year, when he 
returned to England, I received a letter from him, thanking 
me for having taught him how to cast, and stating that he 
had had the greatest success in New Zealand, as during the 
time he had been out there he had caught with the dry 
and wet fly over 1,500 fish, whose weight amounted to 4,500 
pounds. 

Another of my clients. Sir Edmund Lechmere, Bart., 
a well-known African sportsman, killed in the Tongariro 
River, two Trout weighing 16f and 17| pounds respectively, 
and many others in the same river up to 13f pounds. 

My reason for quoting a few of the wonderful records which 
have been made in trout fishing in New Zealand is to give 
my readers some insight into the abundance of sport which 
is open to the fisherman who has the good fortune to visit 
that country. While the pride which attends the lucky 
possessor of some record head, or other trophy, is under- 
standable, the indiscriminate slaughter of natural life which 
attends the making of a record bag, can only be accounted 
for by either the lust of killing or the wish to gain some 



390 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

momentary distinction in the world of sport, and while 
the latter vanity may be somewhat explainable in the 
beginner who has had his imagination fired by the deeds of 
others, it is excusable in none. The judicious conservation 
of wild game in any country is the duty of those who govern, 
and while the New Zealand Government is fully aware 
of this duty, it considers that up to the present, owing to 
the abundance of trout, no ill effect has been produced by 
that which strikes the outsider as indiscriminate and waste- 
ful slaughter of the game fish which abound in the rivers 
and lakes. 

One of the most pleasant, health-giving and instructive 
sporting trips which can be taken is that from London to 
New Zealand via St. Vincent and the Cape, thence via 
Sydney and Honolulu to Vancouver, across the Rockies, 
through Canada (seeing Niagara) to Montreal and Quebec, 
down the St. Lawrence and thence to Liverpool. 

No better line can be chosen for the New Zealand voyage 
than the New Zealand Company's line to Christchurch, and 
by leaving England about the first of October, the traveller 
will arrive at Christchurch for the fishing season, and after 
fishing, and travelling in the Southern and Northern 
Islands, he can then proceed to Sydney in time to enjoy the 
trout fishing in the Blue Mountain district and other parts 
of New South Wales. 

Through the Canadian Pacific Company's agents in 
Sydney he can then book his passage to London, his ticket 
allowing him to stop wherever he may desire and for so 
long as he pleases. He will visit Honolulu on his way to 
Vancouver, arriving in time to enjoy the first of the fishing 
in Vancouver Island, and in Vancouver itself. 

The wonder of the Rocky Mountain scenery, the agri- 
cultural land of the West, the North shore of Lake Superior, 
the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, etc., with all their 



NEW ZEALAND AS A FISHING GROUND 391 

wealth of scenery and sporting advantages, will be passed 
through, and finally shipping from Quebec in the Canadian 
Pacific's Railway Company's boats — possibly the most 
comfortable and best equipped in the world — the traveller 
will, after a delightful trip down the St. Lawrence, and 
across the Atlantic, arrive at Liverpool. 

By such an all round trip, the tourist will have experienced 
the finest trout and salmon fishing in the world, he will have 
been travelling all the time in British boats, seeing the 
wonders of our Colonies during the most delightful seasons, 
skipping the northern winter, and, if he was not formerly 
experienced it, he will have found the real charm of English 
colonial life. 



CHAPTER XXI 

FISHING IN CANADA 

It is owing to the repeated enquiry of my clients with regard 
to Canada as a fishing ground that I am endeavouring in a 
short chapter to give some indication of the fishing to be 
obtained there. 

Canada offers a vaster field and a greater variety of sport 
than any other country in the world. In Canada, if the 
fisherman will take the trouble to travel away from the beaten 
track, away from the railways and the big towns, he is 
certain under good guidance to obtain excellent sport in the 
way of fishing ; but although trout rivers and streams are 
plentiful, the visitor must not expect in all districts to 
find a plethora of trout, though there are always sufficient 
in the Canadian streams and lakes to afford good sport. 

One of the many enjoyable methods of getting trout 
fishing in Canada is by taking guides and a suitable outfit, 
and adopting the Canadian method of camping out, and it 
is in this innovation that the charm of Canadian outdoor life 
will be realized. It is the delight of living in the open, 
surrounded by the wildest and grandest scenery of Canada, 
which repays, and it is because the average fisherman has with- 
in himself a keen love of the natural, and an appreciation of 
the rugged grandeur of mountain and forest scenery, that the 
ever varying beauties of the spots to which his sport will 
take him in Canada will well repay him for roughing it 
and for the time he spends in such fishing expeditions, even 
should sport fail to realize his expectations. 

392 



FISHING IN CANADA 393 

The fish which abound in Canada include different varieties 
of salmon and nearly every variety of trout, as well as those 
splendid game fish the bass, the maskinonge, and the 
ouananiche or land-locked salmon. 

The big game of the Dominion comprise moose, deer, 
caribou, wapiti, bighorn or mountain sheep, musk ox, grizzly 
bear, black bear, wolf, puma, Canadian lynx and antelope. 
Most of the species of game now found in Canada were 
formerly common to the whole of the continent of America, 
but many of them have been altogether driven out of the 
United States by the steady march of civilization, and have 
retreated beyond the international boundary to take up 
their abode in the greater freedom of the north. Here big 
game and small are yet to be found in great numbers, and 
Canada is therefore still one of the chief fur-producing coun- 
tries in the world. In Canada the value of the wild life 
of the country has long been recognized, and by wise laws 
the Federal and Provincial Governments have protected all 
kinds of game from indiscriminate slaughter. Educated 
sportsmen throughout the Dominion are co-operating in this 
protection by the formation of game protective associations, 
and, as a consequence of this, big game has been on the in- 
crease in Canada during recent years, while at the same time 
the utmost freedom has been, and is, allowed for the enjoy- 
ment of legitimate sport. It is therefore to Canada that the 
European sportsman must go should he wish to enjoy the best 
fishing and big game hunting that can be found in America. 

The Canadian climate is healthful and enjoyable. It is 
a veritable physical tonic, and for the sportsman it has the 
added advantage that there are no fevers or malaria such 
as are so common in the big game countries of Africa, India 
and South America. No poisonous snake need be feared, 
but it must be confessed that the sociability of the black 
flies will more than atone for the absence of reptiles. 



394 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

Salmon Fishing- 

Perhaps the best of the salmon fishing in Canada is that 
which is to be obtained from the rivers which lie on the 
Eastern Coast, and so fine is the sport that in certain 
rivers in New Brunswick — the Miramichi, Restigouche, 
Metapedia, Cascapedia, and the Nepisiguit — the fishing 
rights are worth a fortune. There are, however, numerous 
rivers where free salmon fishing may be enjoyed by visiting 
sportsmen. 

In the province of Quebec for instance, every tributary of 
the St. Lawrence, both on the North and South Shores below 
Quebec City, and all the rivers emptying into the Bay of 
Chaleurs, unless impeded at or near their mouths by falls, 
are salmon rivers. 

The salmon generally known on the Pacific coast of Canada 
are (i) the Quinnat or King Salmon, (2) the Sock-Eye or 
Blueback and {3) the Cohoe or Silver Salmon. 

The first grows to a weight of seventy pounds or possibly 
to a considerably larger size. From the scales taken from 
the larger fish, they appear to reach the age of eight years. 
The Sock-Eye and the Cohoe are much smaller fish. 

The Quinnat and the Cohoe afford the best sport to the 
Angler. They are to be taken in the summer by trolling 
or spinning from a boat at the mouth of the Campbell River, 
Vancouver Island ; the Quinnat especially afford splendid 
sport. 

It is generally considered that these game fish cannot be 
taken in fresh water, but I am of the opinion that this is 
only due to the fact that they are not so systematically 
fished for in the rivers of Vancouver, British Columbia, 
generally, as are the Atlantic salmon in home waters. 

Spinning tackle for salmon should certainly be taken and 
tried, if a visit to the Northern portion of Vancouver Island 
is made. 



PLATE LVI. 




The Quinxat or King Salmon. 




The Ouananiche. 




The Brook Trout. 



FISHING IN CANADA 395 

The Ouananiche, or land-locked salmon of Canada, is a 
game fighter, and there are to be found a number of lakes 
within easy distance of St. Andrew's, New Brunswick, 
where this splendid fighting fish is to be taken. Among 
them are the Chamcook, Limeburner, Bartlett, Steins, 
Snowshoe, Welsh, Cram, Turner, McCullough and Creasy. 
Most of these lakes and their tributaries have excellent trout 
fishing. One of the best places for sport with the Ouana- 
niche is Lake St. John, with its tributary waters and the 
Grand Discharge. At St. Andrew's the angler will find no 
lack of places where excellent sport may be enjoyed. 
Another good place is Skiff Lake, about three miles from 
Canterbury, New Brunswick, 

Trout Fishing 

Every known variety of trout may be found in Canada, 
the swiftly flowing streams and innumerable lakes form- 
ing ideal breeding places for this most popular of all game 
fishes. 

The principal varieties of the Canadian Trout are — the 
Grey Lake Trout, the Rainbow, the Cut-throat, the Brook 
and the Sea Trout. 

The grey trout of the Laurentian lakes are fighters and 
grow to enormous size, and the angler, if properly directed, 
will have no difficulty in making catches, the memory of 
which will stay with him as long as he lives. This fish is 
usually caught by trolling from a slowly moving canoe, 
the lure being sunk well down and moved in a slow series of 
short spurts. 

It is a hopeless task to attempt to give even a partial list 
of brooks, streams and lakes where brook and lake trout 
may be caught. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, New- 
foundland, Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and British 
Columbia have each innumerable trout streams, lakes, 



396 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

and rivers where the angler may be sure of finding good sport. 
From almost every station on the Canadian Pacific Railway 
in Maine and New Brunswick good trout streams and rivers 
are within walking distance. Quebec City is a good starting 
point for trout fishing, for within a few miles are Lake St. 
Charles, Beauport, Calvaire, Cache and other good fishing 
waters. The Laurentides National Park boundary is within 
twenty-five miles of the ancient and historic city. On the 
Nomining Branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, reached 
from Montreal, good trout fishing may be had in a charming 
district of lake and mountain. On the Ottawa and Mani- 
waki branch there are many good fishing waters for trout, 
as well as at Cummings, eight miles from GrenviUe Station, 
on the Montreal to Ottawa Line. 

In Ontario, best of all districts, is the wonderful North 
shore of Lake Superior, alongside which the Canadian 
Pacific Railway runs across trout waters that are world 
renowned. 

Here are a few of the rivers in Ontario — Onaping, Spanish 
River, Apishkaugama, Michipicoten, Steel, Magpie, White, 
Little Pic, Monk, Black, Maggot, Gravel, Cress, Prairie, 
Upper Steel, Trout Creek, Wolfe, Mackenzie, Current and 
Nipigon. 

There are many lakes and streams in the Canadian 
Rockies easily reached by the Canadian Pacific Railway 
near Banff, Field and Glacier, etc., and very fair fishing 
may be enjoyed amid some of the grandest scenery in the 
world. 

Old Man River, on the Alberta side of the foothills of the 
Rocky Mountains, offers some of the finest fly fishing in 
the Mountains. This stream is reached by wagon from 
Lundbreck Station, about fifteen miles distant. Both north 
and south forks are good, but the north as a rule yields 
the better fishing. 



PLATE LVII. 




Trout Fisiiinc. ix the Rockies. 



FISHING IN CANADA 397 

The Highwood River is a beautifully clear stream 
similar in many ways to the Dee, with splendid trout 
fishing. 

Thorp Creek, thirty miles south of Calgary, is another 
very fine trout stream coming from the Rockies, and so 
also is Willow Creek, fifty miles south of Calgary. 

These rivers afford ideal camping grounds in the foothills 
of the Rockies, and camping outfits, good conveyances 
etc., can be easily obtained at Calgary, Lundbreck, etc., 
but, as is the case from here to the St. Lawrence River, 
" Muscabane " is very much wanted. 

From almost any town and from every station on the 
Canadian Pacific Railway in the Rockies trout fishing may 
be obtained, as also on the Crows Nest Line to the south. 
In British Columbia the Elk River with its tributaries affords 
fine sport, and is best accessible from Sparwood, about ten 
miles east of Fernie. 

The Kootenay district for trout is hard to beat. On 
Vancouver Island, easy of access, is the Oyster River, a 
short distance north of Comox and also the Campbell river. 
Near Victoria are the Shawnigan Lake and Cowichan river, 
which afford good fishing. Close to Vancouver are the 
Capilano and Seymour Creeks, and the Squamish can also 
be reached from the same place in a short time. 

Fish Lake, near Kamloops, is also an excellent place, and 
there are a number of adjacent lakes equally good. 

Besides the different varieties of salmon and trout in 
Canada there are also to be caught maskinonge and bass. 

The Maskinonge 

The maskinonge is by far the largest game fish in the fresh 
waters of the Northern Hemisphere, and is well called the 
" water tiger " of the inland seas. It is popularly known 
in Canada as the " longe." These fish are said to 



398 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

exceed one hundred pounds in weight, and are frequently 
five feet in length. The head of the maskinonge is large 
and flat, and its mouth will open wide enough to swallow 
prey of its own girth. It has a formidable array of keen 
teeth, sometimes half an inch in length. These teeth will 
dent a metal spoon and play havoc with an artificial 
minnow. 

Maskinonge are invariably savage fighters, and will never 
surrender as long as life lasts. They are full of tricks, and 
will resort to endless experiments to relieve themselves of 
the hook. No two maskinonges will act alike when hooked, 
and in this diversity of tactics lies the great charm of the 
sport. For a contest that demands the highest degree 
of skill and adroitness this game fish is hard to beat, and 
the fisherman in a canoe who meets one has a struggle with 
one of the finest fighters in the fish world. Judging from 
my own experience, it is as stubborn an opponent as the 
tiger fish of the Zambesi. 

The maskinonge is found in most of the rivers and lakes in 
the western portion of Quebec and in some of the large 
lakes in the eastern part of this province, also in Lake 
St. Louis and Lake of Two Mountains, near Montreal, the 
Ottawa River at St. Anne de Bellevue and Lake St. Francis. 
Among the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River 
many mammoth maskinonge have been caught. In 
Ontario, Lake Nipissing, the French River and the Kawartha 
Lakes, reached from Bobcaygeon, give excellent maskinonge 
fishing. Of all of these the French River is the best.* 

Black Bass 
For sheer desperate energy the fight that this fish will 
put up is perhaps unequalled by any other fish of its weight. 
So fiercely will it contest every inch of the advantage gained 

* The maskinonge is in appearance like a pike, and is frequently alluded to as 

a pickerel. 



FISHING IN CANADA 399 

over it by the skilful angler that the latter never feels certain 
that the fight will end in his favour. 

The favourite abode of the black bass is in cold and rapid 
water with gravel or rocky bottom. Its food consists 
mainly of minnows, frogs, crawfish and insects. This fish 
may be caught with the fly, bait or spoon, but no angler 
can ever tell for a certainty just what bait will at any 
moment prove best with black bass. 

This fish is found in abundance in New Brunswick and 
also in Nova Scotia, Quebec has a great many good fishing 
places for bass, among which are the lakes and streams of 
the Ottawa river and its tributaries, up the Gatineau river, 
and in the lakes near the terminus of the Maniwaka branch 
of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Brome Lake, reached 
from Knowlton, Quebec, contains large black bass and 
plenty of them. Ontario has hundreds of places where 
good bass fishing may be enjoyed. 

Sporting trips in Canada are of necessity somewhat 
extended, and therefore require careful consideration 
and preparation. The outfits necessary for such trips 
are varied in their composition, and the agencies which 
supply the necessary men, stores, canoes, or other means 
of locomotion, even when advance notice of such a trip be 
given to them, have at times a considerable difficulty in 
executing their instructions. 

The canoe, which is peculiarly the water-craft of Canada, 
is the one great masterpiece which the Indian has handed 
down to civilization. There is no other form of boat so 
graceful, so responsive to the lightest touch, so easy of pro- 
pulsion, or so universally adaptable. It may be said to 
be essentially a product of its environment. The shallow- 
ness of its draught makes it the ideal craft for the swift- 
flowing Canadian streams, with their numerous shallows and 
rapids. It is in itself so light that it can easily be carried 



400 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

on the head from one stream to another ; it is so noiseless 
that in it the hunter can approach his quarry without the 
sUghtest sound, yet withal it has enormous carrying capacity. 

It is therefore in canoes, and in the highways of Canada 
— its rivers and lakes — that one of the most delightful 
forms of travelling and of obtaining sport is to be obtained. 
With the camera, the rod and the gun, the traveller will 
find, if properly directed, the most fascinating and delightful 
of all wanderings. 

A canoe trip down some of the rivers which run into Lake 
Superior on the North and East shores should furnish every 
delightful experience, and, if the river be carefully selected, 
an abundance of sport, especially of the wet fly variety, 
will be obtained; and here I must emphasize the necessity 
of having and being able to use the rods, reels, lines and 
lures, not only for the dry and wet fly method, but for 
spinning, etc. 

A very enjoyable fishing trip may be had by visiting 
the reefs on the Northern shores of Lake Superior, and the 
rivers and streams which run into the Lake, but a strong and 
really well-found seaworthy motor boat, or small steam 
boat of light draught, should be hired in Sault Ste. Marie 
for this purpose, with a captain well experienced in the 
wilfulness of Lake Superior. A proper outfit of canoes, 
Chippewa Indians, a cook, and everything which is wanted, 
or which is likely to be wanted, will have to be taken, for 
when once the boat has started, civilization and all its 
advantages will be left behind. June and July will be the 
ideal months for such a trip, and the finest lake and river 
fishing in Canada may be had in one extending along the 
East and Northern Shore of Lake Superior from Batchawana 
Bay to the Mouth of the Nipigon. Rough weather — and 
this mighty inland freshwater sea can be most wondrous 
rough — will be encountered, but good seamanship will 



FISHING IN CANADA 401 

always find a sheltered bay, the lee of some island, or some 
convenient river mouth to run into for safety, and no 
day on the whole of such a trip will be found to be 
without its sporting interests and its own charm and 
character. 

The water of the lake is wonderfully clear and cold, and, 
except in the immediate vicinity of the camps, etc., bordering 
its shores, is unrivalled in its purity. Gently paddling from 
ten to forty feet above the vast boulders and spurs of granite, 
forming the so-called reefs of Lake Superior, in a Canadian 
canoe, and casting with a dry fly to each likely quarter,"* 
and near each protruding rock, will provide a charm as 
regards the beautiful, and a delight as regards sport, which 
will remain as a never to be forgotten page in the memory. 
Huge brook trout, running from two to eight pounds in 
weight, haunt the clear depths of these submerged wonder- 
lands, and lie in their misty clefts and retreats waiting for 
the flies and insects which are blown or fly from the neigh- 
bouring land. Frequently when casting a dry fl3^ and when 
there has been no rise of trout, I have seen two beautiful 
shapes flash upward at the fly, and in their eagerness dash 
three or more feet out of the water. In the evening, and 
sometimes in the forenoon, on a calm day, when a gentle 
breeze is bringing out from the land its crowd of insect life, 
a rise will occur which is not easily forgotten. 

On such a trip, however, as I am describing, reef fishing 
is only one item on the bill of fare. Trolling for the great 
lake trout, running up to 40 lbs. is to be had. Camping 
at the mouth of some lovely river or stream and canoeing 
up its ever varying and beautiful waters, gives the additional 
charm of river fishing, though in the latter part of July 
and August, especially south of Michipicoten, the tempera- 
ture of the rivers will have risen and the river trout have 
sought the cooler waters of the lake. 

87 



402 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

The country is wild and lovely, and most varieties of game 
are to be met — bears and wolves are to be seen — but in 
summer are quite harmless. Moose and caribou trails 
are common, and serve to remind only of the profusion of 
life lurking unseen in the cover of these virgin forests. 

In cruising down Canadian Rivers portages will be 
frequent, and therefore all baggage should be dispensed 
with except that which is absolutely necessary. 

It must be remembered that, while every facility and 
assistance is given to the visitor by the Canadian Govern- 
ment, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company's servants, 
etc., yet the country is so vast and its fishing possibilities 
so little known, that the success of each trip will depend 
on the initiative of those in control of it. It is most 
necessary that there should be a similarity of desires 
and tastes among those of the party, in so far as each day's 
procedure is concerned. General information as regards 
the fishing qualities of a river, or even of a district, by any one 
save an experienced fisherman, should in all cases be received 
with great caution, and in every canoe expedition one 
member of the party at least should have had a personal 
experience of the rivers and lakes which it is suggested to 
travel. 

Besides the unequalled wonder of the railway journey 
between Calgary and Vancouver, excellent fishing centres 
will be found in Banff and Sicamous Junction, and quite 
apart from the sport which can be made an inseparable 
adjunct of Canadian travel, this trip in an observation car 
on the Canadian Pacific Railway is one which cannot be 
equalled for beauty and interest. In its own manner it 
teaches a lesson as impressive and profound as the Temples 
of Egypt. The tourist will be surrounded by, or be within 
reach of, many of the most beautiful portions of the Rocky 
Mountains, and in no other mountain region do peak and 



FISHING IN CANADA 403 

cliff, snowfield and glacier, alpland and forest, lake, cataract 
and stream, form such a perfect combination as is to be 
found, not in one, but in hundreds of places in the glorious 
ranges of the Rockies and Selkirks, 

Banff is one of the most delightful resorts in the Rockies, 
and the Canadian Pacific Railway Hotel is one of the most 
beautifully situated hotels in the world. It is the last word 
in modern hotels and it is very comfortable and well 
conducted. The Dog River runs through its grounds, and 
most interesting river and lake fishing can be obtained in 
the neighbourhood. Camping outfits and canoes are pro- 
vided by Brewster's Agency of Banff. 

While on a fishing trip to Forty Mile Creek, some fifteen 
miles from the Banff Hotel, I came across one of the Canadian 
Boy Scouts who had visited England in 1910 — a son of the 
founder of Brewster's Agency, Banff. Though having an 
intimate knowledge of our colonists and appreciating the 
warmth of their Imperial feeling, it was quite a revelation 
to hear this boy tell of his visit and impressions in England. 
It would have done those who decry the Imperial spirit, 
etc., good to have heard and noted the sentiment which 
this trip to the old country had inspired in this youngster. 

My guide, George Harrison, the head guide of Brewster's 
Agency, who accompanied me, was a very keen big game 
huntsman, but being initiated into the mysteries of fly fish- 
ing, his former indifference to the gentle art vanished, and 
he soon became an enthusiast (see Plates LVII. and LIX.). 

Sicamous Junction Hotel is an excellent centre from which 
to fish the ramifications of Sicamous Lake, which, like a 
huge octopus, spreads abroad its gigantic reaches, inter- 
spersed with bays and rivers. A motor launch, rowing 
boats, canoes and experienced boatmen can be obtained. 
The Sicamous Lake, on which the Hotel is situated, the 
Shuswap Lake, and the Eagle River will provide salmon, sea 



404 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 

trout, rainbow trout, schwab fish, brook trout, lake trout, 
etc. The scenery is lovely. While I was there, an Indian 
speared on the Eagle River a lake trout which weighed 
38 lbs. It was forty-two inches in length. The sea trout 
fishing in September is very good indeed, and the fish, which 
run up to 6 lbs. in weight, are excellent in their condition. 

Rainbow trout are very plentiful in these lakes. Salmon 
are also plentiful, but when caught they are generally put 
back. Their flesh is not to be compared with that of the 
sea trout, the rainbow or grey trout. 

When trolling from a canoe on these lakes I caught salmon 
up to 15 lbs. in weight, which had travelled many hundreds 
of miles, since leaving the sea, through the furious rapids 
of the Fraser river, and through the equally wonderful gorges 
of Kicking Horse Pass. Their appearance and condition 
was excellent. They were evidently making for the Eagle 
and other rivers which run into the Sicamous Lake. I 
found " Muscabane " of the greatest use here, for the 
mosquitoes, etc., are very troublesome.* 

Some Canadian Salmon Records. 

To give a better idea of the character of the salmon fishing 
in Canada, I take the liberty of borrowing some records 
given by the Hon. A. E. Gathorne-Hardy in his charming 
contribution to the " Fur, Feather and Fin Series." On 
a portion of the Cascapedia River, fished by the Governor- 
General of Canada, it appears that His Excellency, 
the Marquis of Lansdowne, when Governor of Canada, 
fishing during 1884, 1885, 1886 and 1887, an average 
yearly season of fifty days, killed to his own rod in that 
time 368 salmon, the total weight of these fish being 
8,828 pounds, the fish thus averaging twenty-four pounds in 

* A new fly remedy recently prepared by Messrs. Allen & Hanburys, of 
London. 



FISHING IN CANADA 405 

weight, the largest fish killed in each of the four consecutive 
years being 43, 45, 39, and 38| pounds respectively. The 
total number of fish killed by the whole party during this 
time was 1,245 fish, weighing il9,188 pounds, the average 
weight of the fish thus being 23| pounds. 

A better record even than this is given by Mr. Gathorne- 
Hardy for one season of 53 days, in 1879, •^ver the same 
portion of the river, when Mr. Charles Ellis, Mr. Iveson, and 
Capt. Percy killed no less than 640 fish, the average weight 
being 24| pounds, and the total weight 15,648 pounds. 
The best day's catch fell to Mr. Ellis, who caught 17 fish 
weighing 465 pounds. The weights of these fish were as 
follows, 38, 36, 36, 32, 32, 32, 31, 30, 24, 24, 22, 22, 21, 21, 
20, and 20 pounds, that is averaging about 27| pounds. 

British salmon flies are recommended for Canadian waters. 

With regard to the regulations affecting the close seasons, 
the licences, the permits, etc., which are of course necessary 
in Canada, the visitor should apply to the Provincial 
Government in whose province he proposes to fish, shoot, 
etc. It is inadvisable to embody them in book form, as 
they are subject to somewhat frequent changes by the 
authorities, but the latest information can always be 
obtained at the Office of the High Commissioner for Canada, 
17, Victoria Street, S.W. 



APPENDIX 

SOME NOVELTIES FOR THE FISHERMAN, AND A FEW 
HINTS AS TO FISHING MATERIAL 

No book, purporting to be of an instructional character, on 
any sporting subject, can be considered complete without 
some reference is included in its pages to the weapons 
which are so necessary to the successful pursuit of that 
sport. 

I have, in my former works on fishing, dealt extensively 
with the specialities of our leading fishing tackle firms 
and do not think it necessary to go over the same ground 
again, but in the instructional portion of my text I have 
alluded briefly to some recent inventions which I thought 
would be useful to the fisherman. I am amplifying this 
information, and making my book more complete, by adding 
this appendix. 

A New Spinning Reel 

The ultimate value of any spinning reel will be determined 
by the simplicity with which it is controlled, the perfection 
with which its duties are performed, and in the ease, 
confidence and comfort with which it can be used. 

It will be seen from the following description that not 
only has the Spinning Reel now described all these good 
qualities, but that in addition, it has original advantages 
in its construction, tending to its general usefulness and 
comfort, which have never so far been attempted in any 
other spinning reel. It is a reel so simple and yet so effective 

406 



APPENDIX 407 

that I invariably make use of it when teaching my clients 
how to cast with a spinning rod, and the facility with 
which they can in a few minutes learn to use this reel 
with no danger of over-running is only equalled by 
the pleasure they experience when actually fishing 
with it. 

When casting correctly with the spinning-rod the danger of 
the reel over-running only commences as the velocity of the 
on-going lure begins to fall behind that rotatory speed of the 
drum which has been acquired by the initial velocity of 
the lure, and it is only necessary, therefore, if the rod 
action has been properly made, to effect a braking control 
over the drum during the latter half of any cast. One 
of the many advantages possessed by this reel is that at 
whatever time this checking action is required, during the 
flight of the lure through the air, it can be at once effected 
simply by increasing the pressure of the fingers on the lever 
handle. Plate LX. 

A Consideration of this Reel 

The drum spins well and can extend over seventy yards 
of line when casting. It is so controlled that it can be 
operated by the simple pressure of a finger of either hand, 
no matter which hand is uppermost on the rod, or to which 
side of the rod the handles of the reel are pointing. 

In other words, the reel cannot be placed on the rod 
in a manner which prevents its being operated by the 
fingers of either hand, a unique and very valuable inno- 
vation. The levers are so easily operated and the rotation 
of the drum is so easily regulated, that practically no danger 
of over-running occurs, even when the reel is used for the 
first time. 

The free rotation, the slight check which prevents over- 
running, and the return to the normal fishing condition of the 



408 



APPENDIX 



reel follow one another in clearly defined rotation, and are 
effected by 

1st. A slight pressure of one finger. 

2nd. An increased pressure by the same finger, and 
finally by 

3rd. Releasing the pressure of the finger. 




Diagram 26. 
The Fred G. Shaw Spinning Reel. 

A — Butterfly nut which keeps the two parts of reel, Diag. 26 and 

Diag. 27, together. 
E.E. — The alternative handles for working and controlling the 

mechanism or reel. 
F.F. — The end of the levers of handles E.E., which operate the sliding 

plate H.H. 
G.G. — Studs on which the levers work. 
H.H. — Sliding plate carrying the pawls L & M and their respective 

springs. 
I.I. — Slots in shding plate. 

J.J. — Guides fixed on to K.K. for sliding plate. 
K.K.K.K.— Back plate of reel. 



APPENDIX 409 

L. — The normal pawl, carried on sliding plate H.H., and which is 
disengaged from ratchet wheel, — thus permitting a free rotation 
of the drum, — when the sliding plate is moved forward by F.F. 

M. — A light pawl carried on sliding plate H.H., which comes into 
engagement with ratchet wheel R., by a further movement of 
H.H., thus preventing the over-running of the line. 

N. — A light spring operating against H.H. in its first movement. 

O. — A stronger spring which comes into operation against the further 
movement of H.H. 

S. — An adjusting screw pressing on the springs of pawl M., to regulate 
its controlling action over the ratchet wheel R. 




r-c 



R 

Diagram 2y. 
The Drum of this Reel. 

C. — Showing drum of reel with line on. 

R. — The ratchet wheel. It is shown in Diagram 26 as in position. 
The pawl L. comes into normal contact with the ratchet 
wheel when the drum is on the spindle P., and the handle and 
levers are not operated. 

The reel can be made perfectly silent at any moment 
during the casting of the lure, winding in the lure, working 
the lure, or playing the fish, without any alteration being 
necessary in the manner in which the hand or hands are 
holding the rod. 

The three duties of the drum — free rotation, slight check, 
and full check of its normal condition, are distinguished 
when being made, not only by a difference in the pressure 



410 APPENDIX 

of the finger on the lever, but by the different sound made by 
the two different pawls when in contact with the rachet 
wheel. 

The ability to make the reel perfectly silent when winding 
in is not only a great comfort to most fishermen, but less 
likely to scare the fish at a critical moment, while the 
usual wear and tear of the reel is considerably reduced. 

The entirely new invention of having two levers, each 
of which operates similarly in the mechanism of this reel, 
makes it both a left-handed and right-handed one at the 
pleasure of the fisherman. 

The reel can be taken to pieces as shown in Diags. 26 and 
27, and placed together in less than one minute. It is made 
of the very best material and will be found equally valuable 
as a reel for heavy or for light work. 

When trout fishing with the trout model of the reel, it will 
be seen that the levers will always be within reach of the hand 
holding the trout rod, whether the latter be held above or 
below the reel, without the fisherman having to shift his 
hold on the rod (see Plate LX.). 

The checking influence on the rotatory action of the drum 
cannot be exceeded, neither can the latter be brought up 
with an abrupt and disconcerting jerk, and this regulated 
control can be placed on or off the drum as it spins round, as 
often as is required during the progress of the lure through 
the air. 

No other spinning reel has the same number of advantages, 
or can compare with it for the very great ease and comfort 
with which it can be used. 

When the reel is in its normal fishing condition the 
ratchet wheel, R (Diagram 26) engages the pawl. As 
the cast is made a slight pressure of the finger on either 
lever handle, E E, forces this pawl out of engagement, 
and permits the free rotation of the drum. When required, 



PLATE LX. 




FIG. A. — PLAN SHOWING INTERIOR MECHANISM OF THE FRED G. SHAW SPINNING RF.EL. THE TWO 
PAWLS, SLIDING PLATE, SPRINGS, THE LEVERS AND THEIR HANDLES AND THE BUTTERFLY NUT. 




V\i, I 




Fig. 2 



1^ 



VU..3 




\'\i\. 4 



1. SHOWING HOW THE MECHANISM OF THIS SPINNING REF.L IS CONTROLLED BY THE LOWER HAND. 

2. SHOWING HOW IT IS CONTROLLED BY THE UPPER HANI). 

3. THE SPINNING REEL AND THE TROUT ROD. THE LITTI E FINGER CONTROLLING THE LEVER HANDLE. 

4. WINDING IN SILENTLY. THE LITTLE FINGER OF THE HAND HOLDING THE ROD, PRESSING THE LEVER HANPLF. 



APPENDIX 



411 



an increased pressure on the same lever handle forces 
another and more Ughtly controlled pawl (Fig M, Diagram 
26) into engagement with the ratchet wheel, and thus 
prevents any chance of over-running, while finally the 
release of this pressure, as the lure enters the water, again 
brings the reel to its normal fishing condition. 

This reel is standardized in sizes 4| and 3^ inches. 

The " Ephemerid^ " Fly Net and Priest 

The flying water insects on which the trout will feed 
will vary from hour to hour, not only as regards their 
different families, but also in the colour and appearance of 



^SEZ 



'^M^-^-r^^^if-g-ngitiitr 




^ 



^ 



0= 




Diagram 28. 
The " EPHEMERiDiE " Fly Net and Priest. 

I and 3. — Frame of net. 

2. — Net on frame withdrawn from handle. 
4. — Net ready for use, and fixed on handle. 
5. — Handle extended. 
6. — Priest with net inside. 
When it is desired to use the net. Fig. 2 is withdrawn from handle, 
opened, and fixed (bayonet joint) on the telescopic handle (4). 
The handle is then extended and the net is ready for use. 



412 APPENDIX 

the members of each family, and it is of the utmost im- 
portance, therefore, that the fisherman should be provided 
with some light and portable method of catching the elusive 
flying or floating insects on which the trout may be feeding. 

The most useful adjunct to successful fly-fishing will be 
found to be a fly net. The author has invented and patented 
a very light, convenient, telescopic fly net, the handle of 
which forms another very useful little article known as a 
" priest," with which latter the coup de grace is administered 
in order to put the trout beyond pain. This net and 
priest is shown in Diagram 28.* It is about twelve 
inches in length, when closed, and when the net, which is 
held in the telescopic tube, is withdrawn and fitted on the 
end of the telescopic handle and this is extended, it is three 
feet six inches in length, while the net and priest together 
only weigh seven ounces. 

This net and priest can be easily carried in the creel or 
fishing bag, and when so desired it can be extended, and the 
net fixed in position in a few seconds. This enables the 
fisherman to secure the otherwise elusive insects on which 
the trout may be feeding, and thereupon to determine which 
of the many flies he carries in his fly box will be the one to 
use. 

Gut 

Of all the articles which we use when fishing, the gut, 
of which our casts are made, should be of the best. There is 
no trouble too great, or time so well spent, in selecting our 
fishing tackle, as that which we devote to obtaining good 
gut for our casts, and when once a really good seasonal make 
is discovered it is well to keep to that particular kind. 

Always use the finest tackle consistent with safety, and in 
choosing your casts and traces I can give no better advice 

* See also p. 69, 125. 



APPENDIX 413 

than to go to the very best dealers. I have obtained 
excellent casts from all the following firms : Westley Richards, 
Harrods, Little & Co., Eaton and Deller, Ogden Smith, 
Cummins, Malloch, etc ; alas ! I have also been at times 
disappointed. In spite of every care, even the most reliable 
retail dealer may at times be unable to guarantee every 
cast he sells, and I should never condemn any good dealer 
for supplying me with a few faulty gut casts. 

A make of cast which can be obtained from most retailers 
is the " Hercules " cast. So far as my experience has 
gone, I have found these casts good both in quality and 
durability. They are to be obtained from Little & Co., of 
the Haymarket. The cast for dry fly fishing should be 
three yards in length, tapering to the finest limit of safety. 
This limit should be decided by the state of the weather, the 
water, the time of the year, and the size of the trout in- 
habiting the water in which you are fishing. 

Remember that the strength of the cast will be determined 
by its weakest length. 

Experience will decide the degree of necessary strength 
for the fine points, and when new streams are tried the 
advice of a local fisherman or your tackle maker may well be 
sought. 

Always have at least half a dozen casts of fine and medium 
gut in your box when away from a tackle shop, also a 
plentiful supply of fine gut points, fifteen to eighteen inches 
in length. During the day, when fishing, keep one cast in 
your damping-box, and always where possible soak a new 
cast for at least thirty minutes in lukewarm water before 
using it. Insufficient soaking or too much soaking may 
render the best gut unreliable. Keep your casts in a flat 
metal cast box, such as is sold by all tackle makers. 

Sunlight, and light generally, is ruinous in its effect on 
gut. Your spare casts should never be left exposed to the 



414 APPENDIX 

light, ana for this reason should never be wrapped round 
outside the fisherman's cap, and the rod when not in use 
should be placed in the shade. 

Before using your cast, every length should be carefully 
examined and tested. The gut should slip easily and 
smoothly between the fingers ; it should exhibit no bright 
isolated patches, being of a uniform colour and tint through- 
out its length. Always remove your casts at night from 
the damping-box. 

I prefer a very light blue or green tint for the colour of 
my cast. 

The Dry Fly Box 

The modern tendency as regards the size and shape of 
the boxes holding those flies which it is desirable or necessary 
to carry during any day's fishing, is to have a box as light 
and serviceable as possible, and at the same time small 
enough to be conveniently carried in any of the coat 
pockets. 

In the protected design shown on Plate LXI. will be 
seen a fly box which possesses all these advantages, and 
which will also act as an entomological guide to the fisher- 
man. The divisions are numbered, and the flies they 
contain are clearly seen without lifting the transparent lid 
of each compartment. The lid of the box contains two 
receptacles for May fly, or any other desired flies, and 
underneath are a series of lines marked with numbers, 
corresponding to the respective fly compartments below 
them. The names of the flies, therefore, which are kept 
in any one division should be written in ink on the 
line which is marked with a corresponding number, and 
this box becomes at once an entomological guide. For 
instance, if a fisherman is told that the Red Quill is being 
taken by the trout, if he does not know this fly, he looks at 



PLATE LXI. 



^. 




The 

Shaw " Inimitable " 

Fishing AND Sporting Spectacles. ^F 

ALWAYS SAFE, ALWAYS READY, AND ALWAYS CONVENIENT. 



r 




Fig. I. 




Fig. 2. 

The Sh.wv 
Fly Retriever. 








FIG. I. — THE FLY RETRIEVER IN 
CASE. 

FIG. 2. THE FLY RETRIEVER OUT 

OF CASE. 



The Shaw " Inimitable" Fly Box. 

LIGHT, CAPACIOUS AND SERVICEABLE, BOTH AS A FLY BO.\ AND AN ENTOMOLOGICAL 

GUIDE. 



APPENDIX 415 

this index — which should be written up when the box 
is filled — finds the name of the fly and at once ascertains 
the number of the compartment in which it is contained, 
and he will thus acquire a knowledge ot its exact colour 
and appearance. 

If, on the other hand, he sees a fly on the water and 
wishes to know its name, he catches one (see Fly Net, page 
411), and searches for a similar fly in one of the compart- 
ments. Directly he has found one that resembles it, he 
discovers its name by referring to the number on the lid of 
the box corresponding to the compartment in which it is 
kept. 

The names of the flies written on the lid in ink can be 
easily rubbed out, and other names substituted, and thus this 
fly box can be made to carry from seventeen to twenty 
varieties of flies, and the varieties can be altered from day to 
day if desired. 

On the lid of the box will also be found an exact table 
of the old and modern numbering of the flies, which will 
be found most useful when it is necessary to order a certain 
sized fly by letter or telegram from the fly-maker. 

The Fishing Spectacles 

As the years roll on and Nature begins to exact her toll 
on our faculties, the difficulty of threading the fine points 
of our cast through the minute eye of our trout fly will 
perhaps be more and more noticeable, and we shall find 
that in order to do so we have to hold our fly and our line a 
little further and further from the eye. 

Our oculist will tell us that we must wear glasses, etc. ; 
and when we get to our stream we shall then find that the 
ordinary form of spectacles or pince-nez, while they restore 
our sight, become in other respects an intolerable 
nuisance. 



416 APPENDIX 

If they are spectacles they have to be taken from 
the pocket and adjusted to the nose, and two hands are 
required for this. This is somewhat awkward when you 
are wading, for you do not wish to put the butt end of 
the rod and the reel into the water. 

If they are pince-nez, and can be fixed on the nose with 
one hand, then they must be attached to the person by a 
silk or other cord, and this means even greater annoyance, 
for the cord has to be freed from your coat and a multitude 
of obstacles — the strap of your creel or fishing bag, your 
trout net, etc., etc. 

Not only does this occasion a loss of time, but annoy- 
ance and bother at a critical moment. 

Pince-nez are perhaps the handiest form of glasses to 
use, but even these invariably get in the way, the hand 
continually catching in the silk cord, and the glasses 
being jerked off the nose. Spectacles are too much trouble, 
and take too long to place in position when the crisis of a 
" rise " is on, and the fly has to be changed, etc. After 
a variety of experiments I have invented and patented 
spectacle-frame attachments which can be easily fixed to 
the cap, and by means of which, the spectacles, when not in 
use, are kept on the peak of the fishing, cycling, or shooting 
cap, the fez, or the smoking cap, etc. 

A single motion of one hand places the spectacles on the 
nose, and replaces them securely out of danger on a hook 
placed on the front of the cap, which hook prevents the 
glasses from coming down. 

In both positions they are absolutely secure, and the 
cap can be lifted from the head with the usual ease whether 
the spectacles are on or off the nose. 

The advantages of these glasses are many, and will be 
readily appreciated not only by sportsmen but by all 
short-sighted persons. The framework of the glasses can. 



APPENDIX 417 

of course, be filled with any kind of lenses, and attached 
to any cap. I have now used these glasses for six years 
and can safely say that I have found this arrangement of 
the greatest possible comfort, not only when fishing, 
bicychng, etc., but when indoors. Plate LXI. shows these 
glasses when in use, and also when placed in perfect safety 
on the peak of the fishing-cap. 

Fly Retriever 

However carefully a fisherman may manipulate his rod 
and line, he may, after striking and missing a fish, find his 
Hne entangled in branches above his head. He may also, 
by neglecting to look behind him, when making a cast in 
some new direction, get into similar difficulties, in which 
case it is well to be provided with some means of retrieving 
the fly. One of my chents has invented a very excellent 
fly retriever, and has very kindly given me permission to 
take out a protection for it. It is the best implement of 
the kind I have yet seen. It is placed on the top end of a 
rod and thus Hfted over the twig or leaves which hold the 
hook. The rod is then withdrawn, leaving the blade fast 
to the twig, which is then severed by the simple action of 
pulHng on the cord which is attached to the fly retriever. 
The blade of the retriever is then placed inside its leather 
case, the cord is wound round both, and the fly retriever 
is returned to the pocket, or fishing bag, etc. (see Fig. 1. 
Plate LXI.). 

Salmon and Trout Flies 

I have already dealt in their respective places with both 

Salmon and Trout FHes, and my remarks are worthy of 

consideration by the fisherman who is about to purchase 

flies. The smallest possible selection of salmon flies should 



28 



418 APPENDIX 

be made in the first place, and in order to make this 
selection judiciously, those who have fished, or who are 
fishing, on the particular stretch of water to which the 
fisherman is bound, should be written to, and not only 
the names of the flies which are used, but the sizes 
which may be recommended, should be purchased for this 
particular fishing visit. 

The reader should remember that each fishing centre has 
at least one local tackle dealer, and that such tackle maker 
is the best authority to whom to apply for information as 
regards the best Salmon or Trout flies to use. Therefore, it 
is well, when fishing a district new to the fisherman, that he 
should take advantage of such local knowledge and give 
the flies most commonly recommended in each district 
a trial. 

The leading fishing tackle firms, or agents, whose estab- 
lishments are near those rivers which are to be visited — 
such as Malloch for Scotland, Cummins for the North of 
England, Wyers Freres for the North of France, etc., 
can be relied on, not only for selling the best class of flies, 
but for giving the soundest advice as to the flies most 
commonly used, or which are most likely to kill. 

The Fly Fisherman's Knife 

No ordinary article becomes more endeared to the average 
man than a good knife. To the fisherman a knife is indis- 
pensable, and in the knife shown in the diagram he is able to 
obtain one which contains all the tools he is likely to require at 
home or at the river-side. It is light, thin, and can be 
carried comfortably in any pocket ; furthermore, it is made 
throughout of the best material and silver plated. I have 
already shown in Chapters II. and III. the usefulness of 
this knife. 

The tool, which acts as a file, lancet and disgorger, makes 



APPENDIX 



419 



an excellent manicure tool, and the file is so admirably 
tempered that it wilJ cut through most metals with 
ease. I have experienced a considerable difficulty in easily 
picking out any particular fly from among its fellows in my 
fly-box, and to obviate this difficulty I have had the various 
tools in the knife magnetized, so that, whichever implement 
of this^knife is being used at the moment, it can be applied 




Diagram 29. 
Shaw's Fly Fisherman's Knife. 

The fly fisherman's knife contains all the tools required by the fisherman. 

Disgorger, scissors, lancet, file, screwdriver, pricker, blade, fly gauge, 

measure. Weight, 2 ounces. Length, 4 inches. Thickness, ^ inch. 



to the particular fly required, and this fly will be easily and 
securely raised, by itself, without the other flies being 
disturbed or lost. 



420 APPENDIX 

A difficulty which repeatedly besets the less experienced 
fly fisherman is the inability to place a distinctive title or 
number to the hook of the fly he is using, or which he wishes 
to use, and he is at some difficulty in describing the exact 
size of the flies he requires when wiring or writing to his 
tackle makers. 

In order to overcome this perfectly natural difficulty, I 
have had engraved on my knife the exact size of the hooks 
corresponding to the old and new methods of numbering 
them. If, then, the fisherman desires to order by ^^•i^e a 
fly, either larger, smaller, or equal in size to that which he 
thinks is the most favourable one for kilhng his fish, he has, 
when possessing this knife, the exact gauge always available. 
This advantage I have also protected in my design of a fly- 
box, which has already been described. 

I have no hesitation in recommending this knife to my 
readers, as it is claimed by all who have purchased it to be the 
best and most desirable knife they have used. 

Every one of these knives, which has so far been made, 
has been numbered consecutively, and the appreciation in 
which they are held will be gauged by the fact that the 
number now engraved on them has nearly reached 6,000. 
For further particulars as to this and the other articles 
mentioned in this appendix, see advertisements at the end 
of the book. 



Matters connected with the hiring of Fishing 
Waters, the improvements of Trout Streams, 
the laying down of Fisheries, and Trout- 
breeding Establishments, 

Not only as a fisherman, but in my profession as Civil 
Engineer, I have had numerous opportunities of improving 
the value and capabilities of many fishing waters. For 



APPENDIX 421 

this purpose I have designed and constructed dams in the 
beds of fishing streams in Australia, South Africa, and 
Europe, and it is an important thing for all riparian owners 
to remember that however insignificant a stream may be. 
so long as it has a fairly regular current, it can be improved 
and in many cases made into a most fascinating trout 
proposition. Rivulets which are looked upon merely as 
ditches can, \\Hth a very small expenditure of money and 
time, be so improved as to be capable of carrying a very 
considerable head of sporting fish, and it is therefore worth 
wliile for those who possess water of any description in the 
land they own or occupy, to consider whether the improve- 
ment of such streams might not be of commercial as well 
as of sporting value to them. 

To show the importance of the above remarks I insert a 
letter which I received in 1909 from some friends with 
whom I had stayed in Hungary the year before. Although 
one of the streams passing the castle appeared to contain 
the possibility of being made into a good fishing proposition, 
it was too rugged, too shallow, and too much swept during 
the springtime by the melting of the snows, to hold more 
than a moderate amount of fish. The letter speaks for 
itself as to the improvement which I suggested and 
designed : — 

" The dams which you suggested and designed were 
built last autumn, and they held well against the spring 
torrents, only one being washed away, and I think this 
was done by the loosening of a huge boulder on one 
side of the stream. 

The stream now holds a very great number of fish, 
and of a much larger size than those we had when you 
stayed here. My brother caught forty-two trout the 
other day in some of the pools nearest the house ; 
the largest fish was i| pounds." 



422 APPENDIX 

This extract shows very clearly how a stream can be 
improved, as the largest trout I was able to secure on 
this water when fishing there was just over half a pound, 
which was looked upon by the keeper as being an unusually 
large one. 

My readers may no doubt be desirous of obtaining infor- 
mation with regard to the best, quietest, most sporting, 
cheapest, healthiest, or most convenient, etc., fishing inns 
and fishing neighbourhoods. 

During the last forty years or so of my fishing experi- 
ence I have compiled notes of the information derived from 
the personal memoranda of myself and my many friends, and 
as I have endeavoured to keep these notes up-to-date by 
asking my clients, when they have taken advantage of my 
recommendations, to send me the latest report as to the 
price, food, convenience, and sport of the places they have 
visited, I have much pleasure in offering to assist those who 
may be in want of such information. 

The scope of this book will not permit me to attempt to 
give individual mention of such places, but I shall be very 
happy to assist any of my readers who may care to write 
to me by giving them the up-to-date results of such notes. 

I make this offer because among those places which I 
have mentioned in my former books are one or two which 
have lost some of the sporting attractions which they then 
had. In the advertisement sheets of my book will be 
found particulars of one or two fishing quarters which I can 
specially recommend, and I also have much pleasure in 
drawing attention to the " Anglers' Guide," published by 
the Fi^/^ newspaper, the Field itself, i\\Q Fishing Gazette and 
Scottish Field, etc., all of which will be found very useful. 

There are also Fishing and Shooting Estate Agencies, 
such as the Edinburgh Shooting, Fishing and Estate Agency, 
under the direction of Sir James Duke, Bart., Mr. W. J. 



APPENDIX 423 

Cummins' Agency of Bishop Auckland, Messrs. Wyers 
Freres of Paris, etc., etc. 

My articles on Canada and New Zealand will no doubt 
prove of value to those who are fortunate enough to be 
able to devote three or four months during the year to sport 
and travel. 

The foregoing fishing novelties will be found more fully 
illustrated and described in the pages which follow the 
advertisers' index on page viii., together with other matters 
of importance to the fisherman. These pages contain the 
advertisements of those firms with whom I have had business 
dealings, and to whom I can with pleasure and confidence 
recommend the reader. 

With these final remarks I bid my reader farewell, 
trusting that my experiences will be of practical use to 
him, and that I may have gained a kindly sympathetic 
thought somewhere in these pages. 



INDEX 



Accuracy in casting, 2, 4, 5, 7, 134 

Captain Marryatt on, 7 
Action of a trout rod, Chapter XII., 

217-220. 
Add River, 275-278 
Alder, 67-68, 72, 74, 80 
Alevin salmon, 229 

trout, 100 
Ambidexterity, 117 

in casting, 117, 203, 204. 
Angler's Guide, 423 
Aniseed, 87 
Arcque River, 83 
Attention, 140, 153, 170, 202, 203, 206, 

208, 213 

misplaced, 206 
Awe River, 280, 281. 

Menzies, W. J. M. , on the, 280 

Sheringham, H. T., on the, 281. 
Axe River, 80 
Axioms, salmon, 308-313. 

trout, 134-138. 

Backward Extension of line, 156-158, 

320 
Baden Powell, W., 214 
Bedford, Tlie Duchess of, 351 
Black Forest, 47, 68 
Black Gnat, 72 
Blue Dun, 61, 65 

Quill, 13, 15, 31, 37 
Board of Conservators, 107 
Brain, the use of in casting, 175 
Bristol Channel, 264 
Broken hook, 43 

rod, 128 
Bryant, G. R., 102 
Bulging, 130 

Olive Quill for, 72, 130 
Hare's-ear, 72, 130 
Butterfly Net, 13, 61, 69, 125, 411 

Caddis fly, 65, 66 

Calderwood, W. L., 257, 280, 283 

Canada 

big game of, 392-393. 

Canadian Pacific Railway, 391, 
397, 402, 403 



Canada (continued) 

canoes of, 392-393, 399 
fish of, Plate LVI., 394-9 
fishing in, Cliapter XXI. 
fishing resorts, 393-405 
Rockies, the, Plates LVII. and 

Lvni. 

travelling in the Canadian 
Pacific Railway, 391, 397, 402 
Cap, 11, 24, 126 

Cast, learning how to, Cliaptere IX., 
X., XL, XVII. 

backward. 147, 152, 165 

curved casts, 327 

forward, 147, 155, 164 

Galway, 186, 324 

loop, 189, 195, 328-9 

side, 187 

spey throw, 192, 331-334 

steeple, 186 

" Suir," 334 

switch, 191, 330 

wind, 180 

Wye, 181, 290, 335 
Cast Box, 44 
Casting 

attention to, 153, 170 

delicacy in, 134, 156, 189 

diagrammatically considered, 161 

double-handed rod, with, Cliapter 
XVII. 

faulty, 28, 167 

force used in, 196 

from the reel, 114 

knack of, 167 

lawn, on the, 151, 161 

lightness in, 180 

long distance, 179 

night, at, 85 

position when, salmon, 317 

position when, trout, 152, 154 

principles of, salmon fly. Chapter 
XVII., 317 
trout fly, 137, 148 

rock, on a, 58 

salmon fly, Cliapter XVII. 
Galway cast, 324 
overhead, 317-324 



424 



INDEX 



425 



Casting (continued) 

single-handed rod with, 151 

varying the direction of, 181-183, 
296 

vim, not violence, 136, 140 
Casts, 19, 138, 412 

broken, 44 

floating, 19, 138 

name of method of, 140 
Chilland, Lower, 100 
Cinnamon fly, 66 
Claret and Mallard, 77 
Claret Smut, 68 
Clinker, Tiios., 255 
Gloeon Rufulum, 64 
Close season, trout, 104, 106 
Coachman fly, 71 
Conservators, Board of, 107 
Conson Val, 76 
Control of the muscles, mental, 

Chapter XI. 
Coquet, 48 
Cow-dung fly, 68 
Creels, 30 

Cummins, Mr. W. J., 60 
Curvature of line 

wind cast, 180, 181 

on water, 199, 200 

Dahl, Dr., 261, 262 
Dam, natural, 124 
Dart, 41, 103 
Deveron, 8-48 
Diptera, 62-68 
Disgorger, 26-43, 419 

and lancet, 26, 419 

knife, 419 
Dniester, river, 44 
Domesticated trout, 98 
Double-handed rod, 148, 149, 315. 316 

see salmon rod. 
Drag, 197-200, 293, 294 
Drowned fly, 22-33 
Dry fly. Chapters II. and III. 

drying the, 19, 22, 24 

oiling the, 18-19 
Dry fly fishing, 8, 17, 26. 47, 127. 
Chapters II. and III. 

downstream, 193 

Marry att on, 7 

odds on success, 7 

three flies, 127 
Dun, the, 64, 65, 74, 76 

Autumn, 65 

Blue, 61, 65 

Golden, 68 

Iron Blue, 65 
. Olive, 65 
Dyes, Judson's, 78 



Eden, 48 

Elbow as pivot, 188, 213 
Ephemeridse, 14, 62, 77 
Esdaile, Miss Philippa, 266 
Estuary of Severn, 260 

Tay, 262 

Wye, 260 
Expressing the food of trout, 82, 127 
Extension of salmon line, 320 

trout line, 156, 157, 158 
Evanger river, 245 

Fastening gut, 117-120, 305-307 
Feeding fish, 21, 75, 84 
Felide, Norway, 43, 124 
Fellow fishermen, 83 

due consideration, for, 43, 124 
Field, 69, 127, 423 
Fighting fish, 36 
File, 26, 43 
Fisherman's bag and creel, 30 

day, a, 135 

golden hours of a, 136 

elbow, 117 

fly net, 13, 411 

knife, 24, 26, 418 

lamp, 132 

necessities, 11, Appendix 
Fishing, 

Agencies, 423 

beginner, tlie, 134 

expert, the, 134 

days' coaching, Chapter II. 

downstream, 193 

dry fly, Cliapters II. and III. 

Gazette, 69, 75, 76, 127, 259, 269, 

hints, 133 [423 

hours for, 80, 83 

loch, 141 

look behind when, 140 

methods of dry fly. Chapter II. 

methods of wet fly, 290 

moonliglit, 84, 85 

night at, 85 

renting a, 300 

rise, the, 15, 31 

Txva, the, 44, 45, 291, 292, 293 

salmon for, Cliapter XV. 

spectacles, 415 

stream, the, 15, 20 

upstream, 6, 11, 26, 183 

wet and dry fly, 5-8, Hi, 17 

wet fly, 5, 16, 17, 109 
advantages of, 6 
Deveron, 8 
Itch en, 8 
Test, 8 

downstream, 6, 8, 20 
upstream, 6, 20, 109 



426 



INDEX 



Flies 

changing the, 59 

cleansing, 27, 37 

drying, 19, 22, 24 

floating, Cliapter II, 

grayhng, 142-145 

hatching, 14, 71, 79 

natural, 23 

patterns of, 75-80 

replacing after dark, 131 

salmon, Chapter XVI. 
hooks of, 304 
list of, 303 
size of, 126 

sinking the, 14, 295 

trout, 62-80, 125 

what to use, 68-71, 302-305 

Wickham R. T. on, 76-79 

Winton, Capt. A. de., on, 348 
Floating casts, 19 
Fly 

box, 414 

catching the, 13 

choosing the, 59, 125 

oiling the, 18, 19 

Retriever, 45, 417 

rod, 141 

salmon, the, 302-305 
colour of, 340 
sinking the, 295 

selecting the, 125, 340-347 

successful the, 133-134, 341 

trout, 14, 62-68 

hatch of the, 14, 80, 82 
how to choose, Cliapter II. 
sinking the, 14. 
Fly books, 305 
Fly boxes, 70, 414 
Fly casting at night, 85 

Dniester, on the, 144 

Vistula, 144 

salmon, for, Chapter XVII. 

trout, for, Cliapter X. 

wet, 109 
and dry, 5 
Fly fishing veraits spinning. Chapter 

XVIII., 343 
Fly retriever, 45, 417 
Food of trout, 14, 16, 103 
Force, application of, 166, 197 

misapplied, 167 
Forearm, muscles of, 212 
Forefinger, the use of, 201, 205, 211 
Forward cast, 154, 164 
Foster Bros., 77 
Foster, Mr. David, 76 
Fouling the rod, 195 
Francis Francis, 23, 78, 146 



Frictional resistance of the wind, 180 
Fungus, 43, 99, 124 

Gaff, 310 

Gaffing a salmon, 310 
Galway, cast, salmon, 324, 325 326, 
327 

trout, 186-187 
Gathome-Hardy, 278 

on the Add, 278 
Ginger Quill, 61 
Gordon, Major Sir W. E., 94 
Grace Dr. W. G, 3 
Grannom, 66, 80 
Grasshopper, 145 

Grayling fishing, 142-146, Plate V. 
and Plate XV. 

flies, 145 
Greasing the line, 19, 137 
Grilse, 234, 235, 236 
Gut, 19, 34, 138, 306, 412 

knots in, 117-121, 305-307 

testing, 138, 139, 310 

Halford, the late Mr., 30, 56, 210 
Handling a trout, 40, 42 
Hand-lining, 52, 53 
Hammond's Fancy, 79 
Hardy Bros., 42, 225 
Harling for salmon, 295 
Harpford, 83 
Hasty judgments, 135 
Hatching of the fly, 14, 80-82 

ova. Chapter VI., 229-230 
Hawthorn fly, 68 
Hickson, Professor S. J., on the 

shedding of salmon ova, 283 
Hints, 133 
Hooks, blunted the, 43 

broken, 43 

salmon, 304 
eyes of, 305 

triangle, 116 

trout, 71-74 
size, 71-74 
Huchen, 265 

Hughes, Mr. Reginald D., 157 
Hutton, Mr. J. Arthur, 259, 269, 270, 
272, 275 

Ifafa river, 89 

Illingworth reel, 115 

Imago, 14, 65 

International collection of flies, 75 

Irfon, 83 

Itchen, the, 8, 41, 100, 101 

Lower Chilland, 100 

Abbas, 100 



INDEX 



427 



Jacobi, Stephen Ludwig, 97 
Judsons' Dyes, 78 

Kelt, Chapter XIV., 243, 252, 258, 

261, 263, 277 
Knack of casting, 167 
Knife, fisliorman's, 24, 26, 43 
Knight, Mr. Horace, 64, 66 
Knots, salmon, 305, 307, Plates 

XXXIV., and XXXV. 
trout, 25, 117 120, Diagrams 

4, 5, 6, 7 

Lake Sicamoiis, 403 

Superior, 47, Chapter XX, 

Vymwy, 27 
Lambourne, tlie 48 
Lamp, fisherman's, 132 
Landing nets, 25, 27, 37 
Larvae, 16, 64, 66 
Learning to cast, 149, 201 
Left-hand casting, 117, 203, 204 
Life of the salmon. Chapter XIII. 
Line, the 

alive, 179 

backward extension of, 156-8, 
320 

curvature of, 180, 181 

dead, 159, 199 

fouling the rod, 154, 195 

greasing the, 19, 137 

hand-lining, 53 

jerking the, 167, 199 

keeping it clear, 131 

lifting the, 180 

long, 140 

manipulating t)ie, 50-6 

eliooting the, 50, 51, 196 

slack, 11, 28, 30, 50, 137 

smiashing on water, 32 

spinning, 113 

tapered, 220 

taut, 29 

unreeling the, 138 

winding up, 11-59 
Little & Co., 116 
Loch Fishing, 141 
Loch Leven trout, 20 
Long-distance casting, 140 
Loop cast, 189 

for tlie salmon rod, 328-9 

for the trout rod, 191-5 
Luck, 141, 345 
Lure, salmon, the, 297 

choice of, Cliapter XVIII. 

colour of, 340 

hooks on, 342 

presenting the, 297 

selection of, 340, 345 



Lure, salmon, the [continued) 
size of, 341 

spinning, Chapter XVIII. 
trout, 140 

varying tlie, 140 

Magazine, Salmon and Trout, 249, 259 

Magnifjnng glass, 13 

Mahseer, 47. 

Malloch on .spawning salmon, 270- 

271, 284- 
March Brown, 71 
Marryatt, 7, 211 
Masterman, Dr., on the spawning of 

salmon, 270, 282 
May fly, 22, 23, 60, 64, 74 
Mending a rod, 127 
Mental control of tlie muscles when 

learning to cast. Chapter XI. 
Menzies, W. J. M., on the scales of 

salmon, 275-279 
Milt, 238, 282 

Mind, the use of, in casting, 175 
Minnow, 112 

Reflet, 116 
Mint, wild, 30 
Motlis, 128 

"Muscabane," 384, 397, 404 
Muscles, control of the. Chapter XI. 
wlien casting, 150, 201-6 

Natural fly, 23, 63, 79 
Namsen river, 355, 356 
Naylor, Mr. A. Wellington, 532 
Necessities of the fisherman 

casts, 19, 138, 412 

creels, 30 

flies, 71-80, 302-305, 417 

fly box, 70 414 

net, 61, 69, 125 411 
retriever, 4"), 417 

knife, 24, 26, 43, 418 

lamp, 132 

landing net, 25, 27, 37 

line greasier, 137 

lines, 113, 220 

net, 61, 69, 125, 411 

reel, 56 

rods, Chapter XII., 

spectacles, 415 

spinning reel, 406 
Net, fly, 61, 69, 125, 411 

landing, 25, 27, 37 
Netting tlie fish, 25, 27. 37, 40 
New Zealand 

Agency, 382 

Mr. Donne, 386 

big game of, 379 

brown trout, Plate LV., 382, 383 



428 



INDEX 



New Zealand (continued) 

conservation of fishing in, 390 

emigration, 386 

fish, 380 

fishing in, 379-91 

Government of, the, 384 

High Commissioner's Office, 386-7 

Lake Taupo, 386, 388 

" Muscabane " for, 383, 384 

North Island, 380-8 

Outfit for, 381 

records, trout, 388-390 

rivers 

BuUer, the, Plate LIII. 
Tongariro, 389 

Wanganui, Plate LIV., 385, 
386 

Rotorua, 387 

servants, 380-381 

Shipping Co., 390 

South Island, 380-4 

and tourists, 384 

Tourist Agency, 384-5 
Non-rising fish 

salmon, 287 
trout, 49 
Normandy, 47 
Notonectidse, 63 
Nottingham reel, 18, 113 
Nymphse, 79, 81, 130 

Oak fly, 68 

Oil box, 19 

Oiling the fly, 18-19 

Old Joan, 67 

Olive Quill, 60, 130 

Otter, tlie Devonshire, 48, 83 

Otters, 128 

Ouananiche, 265 

Ova of salmon, 269,282-3, Chapter XIV. 

Hickson, Professor S. J. on, 283 
Overhead cast, salmon, 317-318 

trout, 148, 152-177. 

Palairet, 3 

Paraffin, 19, 87 

Parr, the, 231, 282 

Patience when salmon fishing, 308, 309 

Pennell, H. Cholmondeley, 304 

Peppin, George, 83 

Perlidse, 62 

Perseverance, 150, 175, 208, 308, 344 

when salmon fishing, 308-9 
Phryganea, 66 

larval stage, 66 

pupal stage, 66 
Piscic\ilture, 97 
Practising on a lawn, 151 

over water, 165 



Priest, 13, 26 

Pupa, 12, 13, 16, 66, 67, 81 

Quill, Blue, 13, 15, 31, 37 

Ginger, 61 

Olive, 60, 130 

Red, 25, 31 
Quills, 129 

Rainbow trout, 379, 383, 388, 395, 404 
Records, salmon, 348, 350, 351, 352, 

354 
Redds, salmon, 228 
Red Quill, 25, 31 

Gnat, 68 
Reel, Nottingham, 18, 365 

oiling tl»e, 138 

position of, 56, 151, 316 

spinning, Cliapter XIX., 406, 
Plate LX., Diagram 26 
scientific consideration of its 
usefulness and action, Cliapter 
XIX., 406 

striking from the, 33, 34 

using left hand, 36, 151, 316 
Refraction, 90, 92 
Rise, the, 14, 30, 62, 80, 136 

cause of, 80 

evening, 82, 83 

first, the, 134, 136 

fishing the, 15, 31 

moonlight, 84 
Rising fish, 17, 31 

water, 49 
Rivers 

Add, 275, 277, 278 

Arcque, 83 

Awe, 280 

Axe, 80 

Coquet, 48 

Dart, 41, 103 

Deveron, 48 

Dniester, 144 

Eden, 48 

Evanger, 245 

Icelandic, 261 

Dr. Dahl, on, 261 

Ifafa, 89 

Irfon, 83 

Itchen, 8, 41, 101 

Lambourne, 48 

Namsen, 355, 356 

Otter, 48, 83 

Severn, 260 

Sid, 23 

Spey, 24 

Tanat, 143 

Tay, 350 

Test, 8, 83 



INDEX 



429 



Rivers (continued) 

Touche, 49 

Vecla, 143 

Vistula, 144 

Warg, 143 

Wutach, 47, 84, 117 

Wye, Derbyshire, 48, 83 

Monmouthshire, 48, 2G0, 276, 
277, 347, 348 
Hutton, J. Arthur, on, 349 
De Winton, Capt. Arthur, on, 

348 
records on, 348 
Rockies, 49 
Rod 

action of a, 215, 217, 315 

application of force to, 166 

broken, 128 

dropping point of, 28, 36 

dry fly, Chapter XII. 

virtues of, 224 

elasticity of, 172, 217 

fouling with line, 154, 197 

" Fred. G. Shaw," 42, 225 

lengtii of, 218, 225 

perfect, the, 139 

pivot of the salmon, 148 
trout, 148, 163 

pliancy, 220 

power of, 220 

refractory joint of, 313 

rests for, 11 

salmon, tlie, 316 

selecting, 222 

socket, 139 
loosening, 313 

spinning, how to use it, 365-368, 
373-378 

stiffness, 218, 220 

testing, 215-216 

tops, 139 

Tournament, 221, 224 

treatment of, 220-222, 239 

trout, 139 

weight, of, 218 

whippiness, 218 

whipping, 42, 129 
Rods, American, 223, 224 

makes and makers, 223-224 
Run, the, 293 



Sag, the, 179, 293, 294 

Salmon 

aggressiveness of, 240, 241 
alevin, Chapter XIII., Plate 

XXVII. 229, 231 
captivity in, 267 



Salmon (continued) 
casts, 309, 310 

knots in, 305, 306, 307 
testing, 309 
clean, 313 

coup-de-grdce, the, 312 
discoloured, 258 
eggs, 228, 229 
entering fresh pools, 239 
estuary, 260 

feeding, Chapter XVIIL, 239, 242, 
248, 288, 289 
in fresh water, 242-248 
fifty-pound, a, 229, 311 
flies, Chapter XVI., 302-304 
choice of. Chapter XVIII. 
colour of, 340 
hooks of, 304 
list of, 303 
size of, 341 
fly, the. Chapters XVI. and XVIII. 
sinking the, 295 
working the, 309 
casting the. Chapter XVII., 311, 
312, 317 
methods of, curved casts, 237 
Galway, 324 
overhead, right, 317, 318 

left, 322 
loop, 329-330 
Spey throw, 331 
Suir river, 334 
switch, 330 
Wye, 290-293, 335 
versus the spinning lure. 
Chapter XVIII. 
food of the, 231 

rejection of, 239 
fresh run, 258 
fry, Plate XXVII., 230 
gastric juices of, 245, 247 
grilse, 235 
injured, 235, 236 
instincts of. Chapter XIII., 226, 

227 281 286 
kelts, Chapter XIV., 252, 258, 261, 

263 
knots, for lines, 305, 306, 307 
life of, Cliapter XIII., 228 
lures, clioice of, 345 

presenting the, 297 
milt, 238, 282 
non-rising, 287, 288 
ova, of, 228, 229, 269, 282 
parr, 231, 280, Plate XXVII. 

physiological changes of, 256 
playing a, 298, 310, 311 
redds, 226, 228 
rising, 289, 297 



430 



INDEX 



Salmon (continued) 
rods, 316 

how to hold a, 316, Plates 
XXXVI., XXXVII. 
running, 311 
scales, of, Chapter XIV., see 

" Scales " 
smolt, 232, 234 
spawning, 237, Chapter XIV., 264 

remarks on, 282-286 
sustenance, 241 
sulking, 310 
theories as to, 241, 242 

general remarks, 282-286 
Salmon fishing. Chapter XV. 
axioms as to, 308-313 
different casts wlien, Ciiapter 

XVII. 
gaffing, 299, 310 
barling, 295 
hints on. Chapter XVI. 
how to fish out a cast, 290 
methods of, Chapter XV., 290 
non- rising fish, when, 287 
perseverance, wiien, 308 
playing, 299 

records of, 348, 350, 351-4 
renting a, 300 
rise when, 297 
sagging line wlien, 294, 310 
sinking the fly when, 295 
stoning a pool, 288 
striking, 298 
Salmon rivers, 

rights of, 300 
Sand fly, 66 
Scales of salmon and trout, Ciiapter 

XIV. 
Calderwood, W. L., on, 257 
decrepitation of, Ciiapter XIV. 

255, 257, 259, 272 
discussion on. Chapter XIV. 

synopsis of, 281-286 
Esdaile, Miss P., on, 266 
examination of, 274 
Hutton, J. Arthur, on, 259, 272,275 
influences of salt and fresh water 

on, 265 
Malloch, P. D., on, 270, 284 
marking on, 255, 271 
rings, 271 
River Add, 275 

Menzies, W. J. M., on, 275-277 
structure, cliemical, of, 267 
trout, 254 
Scaring trout, 11, 14, 93. 
" Scientific Angler," 77 
Scissors, 24, see Knife, 419 
Scottish Field, 423 



Screw driver, see knife, 419 
Sedge, 85 

Orange, 66 
Silver, 66 
Senses of trout. Chapter V., 87-96 
Shakespeare, 213 
Shaw, John, 97 
Sheringham, H. T., 90, 281 
Shooting the line, 50, 51, 196 
Sialidffi, 62 
Side-cast, salmon, 233 

trout, 187 
Sight of trout, 12, 88 
Skues, Mr., 8 
Slack line, 11, 28, 30, 50 
Smolts, 233, 234 
Snatching, 167 
Spawning, 237, Chapter XIV. 264 

artificial, Chapter XIV., 264, 

266, 267 
captivity in, 267 
marks, Ciiapter XIV. 

Hutton, J. Arthur, on, 269 
Mallocli, P. D., on, 270, 284 
Masterman, Dr., on, 270 
repetition of, Chapter XIV., 
275-278 
natural, 264, 268 
trout, 105, 122 

appearance of, 106 
close season for, 105 
conditions affecting, 106 
early, 105 
feeding when, 105 
late, 105 

weather affecting, 106 
wild fish, 105, 106 
Spear, 18 

Spey Throw, 192-195, 331-334 
Spider-fly, 08 
Spinner, "65, 74, 77 
Jenny, 65 
Red, 65, 77 
Spinning 

the art of, Chapter XIX., 373-378 
for salmon, Chapter XVIII. 312 

trout, 112-117 
lure versus salmon fly, Chapter 
XVIII., 344 
advantages of, 344 
consideration of, 358, 360-365 
reel, 359, 312, 406, Plate LX., 
Diagrams 26 and 27 
action of, 359, 360, 361, 362 
automatic starting of, 360 
duties of, 359, 360 
inertia of, 360 
rotatory motion of, 360 
rod, 365-368, 373-378 



INDEX 



431 



Splicing a rod, 129, Plate XXXIV. 
Stiff wrist, 206 
Steeple cast, 186 
Stone fly, 23, 67, 85 

Livingstone, 98 
Stoning a salmon pool, 288 
Stream, fishing tlie, 15, 20 
Strike, the, 22, 23 
Striking a salmon, 298 

trout, 22, 33, 110 
from reel, 33, 34 
Success in fishing, 1-4, 133-134, 175, 

209, 308, 344 
Sub-Imago, 12, 14, 48, 63, 64 
Suir river cast, 334-335 
Switch cast, 191, 330 

Tanat, 143 

Taut line, 136 

Temperature, 82, 103, 106 

Test, 8, 83 

Testing a rod, 214 

Thumb in tlie forward cast, 202, 

205, 211 
Tlijrme, wild, 30 
Torres Straits, 96 
Touche, 49 

Tournaments, 221, 224 
Triangle hooks, 116. 
Tricoptera, 62-65 
Trout 

appearance of, 122 

axioms, 134-138 

breeding, 98 

bulging, 82, 130 

casting to a, 137 

close season, 104-106 

colour, 122 

distinction, 122 

domesticated, 98 

enticing to rise, 20 

farms, 97-100 

fighting a, 36 

flies, 71, 125 

fly-fishing, dry, 14, 15, 35, 36, 48 
wet, 5, 14, 35, 36, 48 
upstream, 6, 11, 183 

food of, 16, 99 

growth, 103 

handling, 40-42 

hand-lining a, 52-53 

hearing of, 88 

hook, 137 

jumping, 37 

killing, 26, 134 

knots for trout lines, 25, 117-120 

Loch Leven, 20 

missing, 21 

netting a, 25, 27, 136, 137 



Trout (continued) 

non-rising, 49 

playing a, 25 

position of, 20 

putting down, 19-32 

rising short, 21 

scaring, 11-14, 19-21, 32, 93 

season, 106-108 

senses of, 87 

sex, in, 122 

spawning, 105 

spinning for, 112 

takable, 41 

times to fisli, 80-83 

undersized, 40-41 

vision of, 12, 88 
Trouville, 49 

Undersized fish, 40-41 
Upstream fishing, 6, 7, 11, 110, 111, 
143 

Vadheim, 47 
Val Conson, 75 
Vancouver Island, 48 
Vecla, 143 
Vim, 140 
Violence, 136, 140 
Vision of trout, 12, 88 
Vistula, 144 
VjTnwy Lake, 27 

Wading, 95, 109, 312 

Walton, Izaak, 139 

Warg, 143 

Water, practising over, 165 

Waterhouse, Mr. Charles A., 63 

Water insects, 62 

Diptera, 63 

Ephemeridse, 62 

Notonectidae, 63 

Perlidae, 63, 67 

Sialidae, 63, 67 

Trichoptera, 62, 65 
Water shrimps, 16 
Weeds, 25, 28, 30, 36, 64, 55, 121, 136 

as dams, 23, 123, 144, Plate XII. 

breeding-places, 123 

shelter, 54, 55, 123 
Welshman's Button, 66, 80 
Wet fly fishing, 12, 14, 16, 109, 184 

arrangement of flies, 111 

downstream, 49, 111 

striking, 110 

upstream, 109 
Wickham, Dr. Ciias., 77 
Wickham, R. T., 76 
Wickham's Fancy, 77 
Wind cast, 180 



432 



INDEX 



Wind, casting against, 180 

frictional resistance, 180 
Winton, Capt., Arthur de, 348 
Worms, 16, 106 
Wrist and arm-action, 170 
Wrist, rigid, 170, 171, 180, 188, 202, 

206 
Wutach, 47, 83, 117 
Wye Board of Conservators, 347 
cast, 181, 290, 335 

the use of, 181, 290, 335 
variation of, 183 
river, Derbyshire, 48, 83 



Wye Board of Conservators (cont.) 

Welsh, 48, 260, 261, 276, 277, 
346, 347 348, 
Hutton, J. Artliur, on, 349 
Winton, Capt. Arthur, de, on, 

348 
records on, 348 
Salmon, 1913, 348 
Wyers Freres, 116 

Yellow Sally, 67 
Yolk Sac, salmon, 230 

trout, 100 
Young, Rev. Hamilton, 8 



COMETS AND THEIR TAILS 



AND 



The Gegenschein Light. 

By FRED. G. SHAW, F.G.S., 

Assoc.M.lnst.C.E., etc. 



Opinions of the Press. 

London Quarierlv Review. — " Mr. Shaw's ingenious theory cannot fail to 
interest anyone who has a taste for such subjects. The romance of science 
is well represented in this acute and. most interesting little book." 

Nature. — " The work as a whole is brief ; its tone is very modest." 

Sheffield Telegraph. — •" Mr. Shaw's theory is plausible, ingenious and 
interesting, evincing close reasoning on the part of its author." 

Glasgow Herald. — " Accurate in its general facts, sound in its authorities, 
and cautious in its tone." 

Morning Post. — " Mr. Shaw, in this admirably printed little book pro- 
pounds a theory which is certainly worth consideration. It is put forward 
in a very readable and even lively manner, and is enforced by several 
carefully-prepared plates." 

Dublin Irish Times. — " With full command of the most advanced astro- 
nomical learning, Mr. Frederick G. Shaw, F.G.S., a traveller of wide 
experience and a deep scientific thinker, now advances a novel theory as 
to cometic tails, and as to that mysterious light commonly known as the 
Gegenschein. Singularly interesting study ... it will, there can be no 
doubt, engage the earnest attention of all astronomero, and give rise to fruitful 
discussion." 

Scotsman. — •" Of unusual interest to readers who study astronomy. 

Simply enough and lucidly enough expounded in the book. Original, 

ingenious, and suggestive, the book deserves the attention of every one 
interested in its subject." 

African Review. — " Revealing a fund of knowledge in astronomical and 
meteorological science." 

Lord Rayleigh. — ■" With regard to your theory of the Gegenschein, 
do not remember seeing the lens-like action of the earth's atmosphere noticei 
before." 

Critic. — " But, as I have known Mr. Fred. G. Shaw for some years, and 
have recognised his ability as a writer and a scientist more than once in my 
columns, his late departure as an author of a new theor}^ on the most abstruse 
astronomical preoblems merits some attention. His ingenious solution of 
the great geological puzzle of the Witwatersrand conglomerates is still fresh 
in the minds of scientific men ; and in turning to astral problems, as he has 
done in his work ' Comets and their Tails, etc' he exhibits the same logical 
deductive thought shown in his pseudo-morphic theory as to the formation, etc., 
of the said conglomerates. It is certain that he has scored a success in his 
solution of the Gegenschein light. I heartily commend this book to my 
readers." 



Price 2s. 6cl. net. 

Published by BAILLIERE, TINDALL & COX. 



FISCAL FACTS & FICTIONS 

By FRED. G. SHAW, F.G.S., 

Assoc.M.Inst.C.E., etc. 

Mornitig Post. — ■" An able and concise book. . . . Tlicre is not a single 
point in the controversy on which Mr. Shaw docs not touch concisely. . . . 
The book is admirably arranged, and so simple that even a Free Trader can 
understand it. and vivaciously written." 

Irish Times. — " Precise and elaborate. . . full of authenticated statis- 

tics, and is a very valuable addition. . . . He is a writer of old standing 
and of acknowledged ability, and his range is exceptionally wide. . . . 
But this work, in a sober, serious style, gives the reformers' views of the 
po.sition with admirable lucidity, and i^leads" their case with extreme cleverness 
and strength." 

Sheffield Telegraph. — " There is force and originality about it. He takes 
up. one by one, the arguments of Free Traders, and shatters them. Lord 
Rosebery comes out very badly damaged, and there is little left of men like 
.Air. Asquith, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. Mr. Morley, and Lord Goschen. 
. . . This book will prove invaluable. . . . Sir Alfred Bateman's 
estimates, from which the Free Traders get most of their inspiration, are 
subjected to a critical analysis, and shown to be unsound. . . . There is 
much more in this valuable volume." 

Nottingham Daily Guardian. — " An able and trenchant writer ; ... in 
short and clearly-cut sentences ; . . . striking to the eye, helpful to the 
naemory, and very convenient for reference. ... He also submits recent 
speeches of leading opponents of fiscal reform to severe and scathing criticism, 
exposing the weaknesses of their position, and showing in manv instances the 
misleading nature of their mode of handling the statistical materials with which 
they are dealing. . . . These arguments are su]:)portcd at every step 
by figures that cannot be impugned." 

Newcastle Daily Journal. — " As a student of political economy, and, niore- 
over, a man with a wide knowledge of commerce . . . Mr. Shaw's style 
is fresh and vigorous, so that he is enabled to invest his ' facts and figures, 
witli an interest and attractiveness too rarely found in works in any way 
oncerned, ... its presentation of vital information being effective to a 
degree." 

African Review. — " This style is eminently plain and colloquial, easv and 
conventional, pithy and forcible, and without ambiguity." 

Jackson's Oxford Journal. — " He shows the advantages . . . and tlie 
advisability and feasibility of subsidizing home-grown wheat. . . . The 
work contains very much that is original, and should prove helpful in 
the present controversy." 

Huddersfield Daily Chronicle. — " But few had succeeded in throwing such 
a fierce light on the absurdity of England continuing to be a Free Trade 
country than does the volume before us. , . . An admirable work." 



Price 5s. net. 



To be obtained from the Author, h, Neville Court, .Abbey Road, X.W 



The School for Salmon and Trout Fly Casting. 




Established 1906 

HV 

FRED,aSHAW,RG.S., 

AT 

5, Marlborough Road^ 
St. John's Wood. 



Mr. Shaw has perfected the fly 
casting of over 2,000 clients during the 
last eight years, including a great number 
of Ladies, Officers in His Majesty's Naval 
and Military Forces, School Boys, and 
■well-kno^vn public men. 



Mr. R. B. Marston, in the Fishing Gazette, 1907, said : 

" . . Mr. Shaw has shown me letters from anglers who have had lessons from 

him, speaking in the highest terms of his skill as a rapid teacher." 

Country Gentleman, 1908 : 

" No better teacher than Mr. Shaw could be wished for." 

Morning Post, December 30th, 1907: 

" In Mr. Shaw, than whom there are few more business'like exponents of the 
and practice of fly fishing for trout or salmon, wc have an example of the man of actii 
and man of thought in one. Of his ability to teach the beginner and improve even t 

veteran amateur no one will have any doubt snVio has seen him cast t 

has all the practice of fly fishing at his fingers' ends, and he has also a \^^ho' 
practical way of imparting his knowledge to others." 

Daily Express : 

" One of the greatest living masters of the art." 

Extract from The Angler : 

" But life is too short tO'day, work is too strenuous, and the world moves too 
quickly to permit one to devote years to an art which Mr. Shaw demonstrates — and 
demonstrates brilliantly — can be mastered in a few hours." 

Scottish Field : 

" Mr. Shaw was the Amateur Champion of trout fly casting from 1904-1908, and 
the things he cannot do and cannot teach others to do with a rod and line and fly are 
not included in the Angler's art. Alike on the casting lawn at his own address, and by 
the waterside in actual pursuit of the gentle art, he gives those who entrust themselves 
to his teaching more knowledge and skill in an hour or two's instruction than many 
w/ould-be fishers acquire in the course of a long life." 




THE CASTING WATER. 

The School for Salmon and Trout Fly Casting. 

A few extracts from innumerable testimonials sent to Mr. Shaw. 

Windham Club, 
From a Well-known Traveller. /"(v -m'/', iqoo 

I found I could get my fly to places and under difficulties which 

would have been impossible for me before you took me in hand Your 

instructions were so clear and explained so admirably that I should have been a 
duffer indeed had I not vastly improved. 

Thanking you for the trouble and patience you bestowed on me during my two 
lessons. 



From the Most Hon. The Marouis of 



Aiii^iist isi, iQOj. 



I cannot thank you too much for all the trouble you took with me ; 

ju have certainly increased my pleasure ten-fold 

OM THE Hon. George P . -^""^ 22nd, ii)oS. 

\ Allow me to express my sense of your admirable capacities as a teacher, and of 
remarkable speed with which you can instil the principles of the art of which you 

i a master 

1 have read your book on Fly Fishing with great pleasure and profit. 



OM A Member of the Diplomatic Service. 



l-'ebi iiiiiy 6II1, u)i2. 



I have derived the greatest benefit from the lessons I took from you in casting 
salmon and trout fly, and have learnt it in a way that I shall never forget, indeed, 
m most grateful to you for the pains you took over me, the result of which has made 
shing a lifelong pleasure to me. 

From a Celebrated Author and Playwright. l-ebniaiy 24111, 1012. 

Our kind greetings to you 

If you care to refer anyone to me I shall be delighted to write to them my opinion 
of your teaching. It is a very high opinion. How do you think Michael did last 
season ? He had never once fished with fly before your lessons, and the second 
time thereafter he caught two sea-trout (one 2j lb.). Altogether he caught last 
season over 100 sea-trout and one salmon. If you never knew what a good teacher 
you are you know it now. He is only eleven. We used to drink your health, and he 
gave imitations of you (superb). 

Yours sincerely. 




THE CASTING LAWN. 



The School for Salmon and Trout Fly Casting 

The above extensive and exclusively private coaching ground is 

situated within one minute's \A/alk of Marlborough Road Station, 

close to Lord's Cricket Ground, and about ten minutes by taxi 

from Piccadilly Circus. 



From a Well-known Singer. March 14th, iqij. 

I never had a blank day the whole time I was there — my average was eight 
fish a day, averaging between 4 lb. to 1 ^ lb. 

I must say that I chiefly owed my success to your excellent tuition — I put into 
practice the various casts you taught me, and I was able to cast and fish in different 
places where I should never have dreamed of attempting to cast had I not had lessons 
from you. it was invariably in the awkward places that I got my best fish. 

You have a wonderful gift of not only making your pupils undei'stand exactly 
what you ivant them to do but of vialiiug tlieiii do it / It is no exaggeration to say 
that in the few lessons I had with you, you improved my casting 75 °o. and you made 
me do things that I thought were practically impossible. Please accept my sincere 
thanks for all the trouble you took on my behalf. With kind regards. 

Sincerely yours, 

From a Distinguished Soldier. -''""'' ^'^'Z'. 'O'.i- 

Your lessons have taught me a great deal. Your own mastery of the rod and 
line is wonderful, and no one could be a better or more painstaking teacher. My wife 
joins me in thanking you sincerely. 

From a Lady Client. Mauli nth, 1^14. 

I am greatly indebted to you for all the trouble you have taken with me, and 
for your kindness and patience. 



For Terms, Original Testimonials and Particulars of this School apply to 
FRED. G. SHAW, U, Neville Court, Abbey Road, London, N.W. 



